The Last Rose
by Valasania the Pale
Summary: Ten years have passed since the Fall of Vale and the incursion of Grimm that followed. Ruby Rose, bearing the mantle of a fully-fledged huntress, wrestles with the memory of the events that followed those terrible days in this re-imagining of the events of RWBY. Canon until roughly the end of Volume Five, after which events split off.
1. By Another Name

**Disclaimer: I do not own RWBY, just playing in the sandbox.**

**Special mention to Etheriell, whose story 'Picking Up The Pieces' really was the genesis and inspiration of this idea. Please enjoy!**

* * *

_A figure cloaked in white knelt before her, arms held wide in invitation. "I'm going be gone for a while, Little Rose… A lot of people need help out there, so I'm going to help them. I want you and your sister to be strong for me and smile for your daddy, okay?"_

_Ruby returned the hug with vigor, burying her face in the crook of the woman's neck. "Okay, Momma!"_

_The woman's smile was affectionate and slightly sad as she pulled away, her hands reaching up to re-fasten the buckle of Ruby's cloak. It was so big on her tiny body that she wore it more like an adorably oversized blanket. _

"_That's my girl." She ruffled Ruby's hair. "I love you, Ruby. I'll be home soon!"_

…

_Be strong… Every day, I've tried. I've tried, so, so hard. When the Grimm took her away, I tried my best to stay strong for Dad and Yang… Often, though, it felt like I was trying to hold back the tide. Or outrun the coming night… And now it looms over me, a specter of loss and doubt…_

_I wonder—_

…

_Of all the directions I might have taken in life… following in her footsteps… Is this what she'd have wanted for me?_

X_0_X

Exhausted, Ruby Rose pulled her cloak tighter around her shoulders as she made her way through Mistral's working district, feeling every inch of the previous week's mission deep in her bones. Though lacking the snow that had already blanketed its northernmost territories, Mistral's winters were renowned for their bitter winds.

For a good reason, too, at these heights. She deeply regretted not stopping by her house first for warmer clothing.

Still, it was better than Atlas, where the cold was everywhere – Spreading up from the ground, biting toes, and delivered amidst the heavy snowfall the northern continent received almost daily.

Regardless of the source though, after a week in the wilderness she despised any kind of chill, no matter the source. She needed a soft mattress and a radiator in her life.

The narrow, winding streets were quiet, Mistral's citizens content to stow away within their sturdy dwellings with their families and dinner. Most were probably already sleeping. Evening was quickly turning into night and Ruby could sympathize.

'_Almost there.'_

Check in at the Huntsmen's Guild, report her success and survival, collect her reward, rest. This assignment would pay her rent for at least the next three months, so she'd hopefully get the chance to relax and take more low-risk missions while the cold lasted.

No guard duty though. The tedium was awful, and she liked her toes.

She turned the corner into one of the city's many stairwells, this one cutting through the mountainside to bring her into the beginnings of the Market District, where one could find food, supplies, and the headquarters of the majority of the city's guilds.

Ruby grimaced, her burning thighs protesting the climb. It was too cold for this…

Winter was hard for huntsmen young or old. For those like her, years into her career, it resurrected a deep, throbbing ache in her bones. She could feel it deep inside, like an itch she couldn't scratch, or a joint out of alignment.

'_Almost there. Just a few more minutes and I can sleep._'

Sleep, and hope the exhaustion was enough to ward away the dreams once more. Her last break hadn't been nearly as restful as she had hoped—

**Thump.**

Silver eyes grew wide. Ruby sagged against the freezing stone wall of the stairwell. Her hand grasped her chest above her heart, feeling the aching pangs against her rib-cage. Now…?

**Thump.**

It had been a mistake to allow that train of thought. Breathe.

Just. Keep. Breathing.

**Thump.**

Eyes clenched shut, Ruby forced her chest to move, inhale… hold… exhale. Rinse. Repeat. Just like she'd read about, like she'd practiced. It would help. In through the nose, out through the mouth. Her back sank down the wall and she tucked her head against her knees. In… out.

**Thump.**

Her vision warped, so she closed her eyes. _'This is normal,' _She counselled herself, enforcing calm on her scattering thoughts_. 'It is normal to feel like this after... You're just anxious and tired and need rest. Breathe. In. Out'_

The mantra repeated for several minutes, time losing meaning with the leeching cold and pounding blood. She rhythmically tightened her hands into fists, then slackened. Repeat.

She was patient.

The agonizing throb of her heart eventually slowed into its normal rhythm, and her pulse ceased to fill her ears with an inconstant roar. They were far from strangers to her – far from friendly too. Acquaintances she'd prefer not to know but long since resigned herself to dealing with.

The attacks, while not precisely _normal_, were something she'd built up years of experience managing as they came. Never wanting to repeat the terrifying experiences of when they'd first began, when she'd had no clue what to do and could only ride them out, such had been a necessity, as vital as maintaining her weapons.

The mind was a weapon. She must keep hers sharpened.

Beacon had prepared her well academically for the problems many huntsmen would face in the field and at home, but it had never seemed as real in the classroom as it had become after the Fall…

_Thump._

In… Out.

Ruby sighed wearily. She was fine. Report in, go home, rest. Everything would be just fine once she could lay down and get some sleep.

Resolved, Ruby pulled herself to her feet, shivering as the stone stairwell retained the heat she'd given it, leaving her colder.

Her inner voice was tired even to herself._ 'Almost there.'_

A quiet tinkling announced her arrival to the clerk in charge of the guild, a nondescript Mistral native whose hair had begun to grey at the temples. He smiled tiredly at Ruby as she shut the door against the wind. "Welcome back, Ruby. I was hoping I'd see you before my shift was up," the man greeted warmly.

Ruby smiled back, equally tired. "I managed to catch up to my mark just yesterday," she said, pulling out her ID for the clerk to scan into the system. "The reports didn't do it justice. If it wasn't so injured from the team that chased it away from the village then I'd still be out there."

It had been an impressive specimen, though that hadn't been anything to celebrate once she'd found it limping away from civilization. Its gait had been hampered by fractured shards of its own armor digging into its leg. Without that vulnerability, she'd have had to resort to a series of ambushes to wear down its considerable defenses… Not a pleasant prospect in Mistral's colder northern territory.

The clerk hummed agreeably, eyes widening in surprise as the video feed he'd pulled up from her gear showed the monster in all its malevolence. "Definitely bigger than the reports said," he agreed.

Goliaths were no huntress' favorite Grimm to kill. Too big, naturally strong, and far, far too crafty. Hunting them without a full team was considered ambitious for any but the best.

Her uncle had had no trouble with such assignments, and now neither did she.

_Thump._

Her fingers tightened on the counter-top. She forced her breathing to slow again, closing her eyes briefly against the unpleasant sensation. Ignorant of her internal struggle, the clerk cheerfully typed on his keyboard with one hand, watching the kill feed with interest. Getting to view a professional at work was something special. Even for someone whose job allowed him to view such things every day, it was always a spectacle.

Ruby shifted on her feet, stifling a yawn behind her hand.

The clerk jerked, looking away from the video with an embarrassed flush. "Sorry Ruby. I don't mean to keep you here overlong. You're all cleared. The reward should be deposited in your account by mid-morning tomorrow."

She nodded thankfully. "Thanks Li, I hope you have a good evening."

"I will now! This'll be my evening entertainment."

She stepped out into the cold with a wan, amused smile. It had been a good kill. Better than most huntsmen were capable of on their own, if she were being completely honest. But she was tired and not in the mood for bragging.

Idly, her eyes flicked down to her identification, spinning it in her fingers to see her face – younger and softer when the picture had been taken – and registered team.

R_.

She sucked in a breath against the expected clench in her chest, eyes squeezing shut, but it didn't come.

Only an echo.

Strangely disappointed, she let the breath go and tucked the card into her pocket, holding her hands there for warmth. The temperature was dropping even further with the descent of the sun below the horizon. Ruby set a quick pace back to her house.

She felt cold.

X_0_X

_She stood beside her body, a ghost, frozen, reaching out toward the scene. RED hair kneeling opposite HER crumpled in THREE on the ground, sparking, sputtering, fading, emptying, dying. Swords falling to the ground lifeless distant voices jeered and booed and screamed in horror at the sight of the CORPSE laying on the ground._

_Tears streaked her face but she couldn't move couldn't run to see if her FRIEND was alright because she knew she knew that PENNY wasn't alright and PYRRHA and wasn't alright and nothing at all was right in the world._

_Why why did this happen? What was the point? The low, satisfied voice spoke over the uproar, but the words were meaningless to Ruby. They weren't important didn't matter what was important was her FRIEND lying DEAD on the ground and she could feel her HEART throbbing in her chest - could only watch and weep and stare, USELESS.._

_The screens above all their heads turned menacing red as sirens blared; a queen mocking them as the spectators ran, only now realizing they were only PAWNS fit for slaughter. _

_Move. Move. Move. Be strong. Move forward. Stay ahead of it. Must keep moving on. _

X_0_X

Ruby jerked awake, heart throbbing painfully in her chest, cold sweat clinging to her body. In her ears a horribly loud ringing swallowed all other sounds, save one.

**Thump.**

A hand flew to her chest, eyes squeezing tightly shut. That had been… the Vytal Festival Tournament? That had was years ago, but it felt like she'd just been pulled straight from the moment… That moment. The beginning of the Fall.

**Thump.**

She breathed deep, desperately trying to stabilize her pulse and push down the encompassing panic. It was just a dream, it was all over. It was done. In… Out. There was _nothing_ to panic about. In. Out. Nothing. In. Out. Why wouldn't it go away? InOut. _In…_ Out. InOutInOutIn—

**Thump. **

Cold seared her lungs, spreading like plague through her limbs. She couldn't breathe, couldn't get enough air.

InOutInOut—

**Thump.**

'_Stop_,' she moaned in the confines of her mind._ 'Stop! Please!'_

**Thump.**

Her breath came in rapid, shallow gasps. It wasn't enough. She couldn't get enough air into her lungs. Silver eyes flew open, blankets falling to her lap as she lurched upright, watching her hands shake violently through vision tinging grey at the edges, periphery warping inwards.

**Thump.**

'_Stop,' _Calmer. A command_. _She fought against the fear devouring her._ 'Think.'_

**Thump.**

Breathe.

In. Hold. Out. Wait. In. Hold. Out. Wait. In. Hold. Out. Wait. In.

**Thump.**

The panic came in waves. Ruby resolutely clung to her breathing, forcing her body to adhere to the rhythm _she_ set for it, riding out the waves of nausea and dizziness. The ringing was nearly unbearable, drowning her, drowning the world.

'_This is normal. It is _normal_ for you to feel like this. It will go away in time.' _

In. Hold. Out.

_Thump._

The room swam around her when she dared to open her eyes again, pulsing in eddying rings, speckled by spots of white and black. Her body flashed hot, then cold, and back again, bones feeling sick, blood pumping electricity through her temples.

In. Hold. Out.

_Thump._

Innnnn…. Out…. Innnn…. Out.

…

Nothing?

She waited another beat, wary.

Nothing. Finally, her heart resumed its normal pace.

Ruby weakly pulled herself out from under the suffocating covers, her body settling on an uncomfortable flush that didn't quite reach her skin. The room tilted around her, limbs protesting as her fatigue resurged. Silver eyes flicked at the analogue clock at her bedside.

Three in the morning… No rest for the weary, apparently.

Leaning heavily on the wall, she staggered toward the tiny living room at the center of her home. Like the rest of the dwelling it was sparsely decorated. Empty wall space begged for pictures, bookshelves stood empty. The furniture could have been mistaken for brand new if not for the thin layer of dust.

Ruby sank gratefully onto the couch, glad for the cool vinyl on her skin even as she trembled from the remnants of the dream.

The Vytal Festival… She hadn't revisited that day for weeks, too exhausted or too consumed by an assignment to dream.

Hands shaking, her body still too awake - too alive - Ruby cast her eyes about for distraction. One of the wall's few fixtures, an old pendulum clock, had come with the house. Ruby tracked its motion, absorbing herself in the play of shadows, the low, rhythmic ticking.

It didn't help all that much. Her flesh prickled with awareness, muscles tensing every time the winds moaned, with every creak of the rafters. Shapes danced in the darkened corners of the room, while each distant cry of some nocturnal animal recalled the furious shrieks of the creatures of Grimm.

'_I can't do this,'_ the huntress sighed, breathing deep.

She dug her hands into her pockets, retrieving her scroll. Though in need of charging, it would serve for now. She browsed through her contacts, tapping on one name she knew she could turn to at so late an hour.

_[Hey Sun. You awake?]_

It was only a few seconds before she got her reply.

_[Yeah, what's up Ruby? O.o]_

_[Nothing much. Got back from my assignment a couple hours ago. Tried to sleep, had a nightmare. Can't sleep now]_

_[That bites. Wanna talk about it?]_

Ruby grimaced tiredly, echoes of the dream playing across her vision.

_[I saw Penny again. At the tournament, the last round]_

_RED hair kneeling opposite HER crumpled in THREE on the ground. _The image etched into her mind for eternity, preserved against every desire to _forget_ and _let go _and _move forward_ before it consumed her any more than it already had.

_[I'm sorry Ruby. I miss her too]_

Her hands squeezed the scroll tightly, willing the visions away. Beneath the ache in her chest, a few fragile tendrils of warmth unfurled; gratitude, she knew, and empathy. She wasn't Penny's only friend, just the closest.

Well.

Closest, yet so far from knowing the girl as well as she might have, if they'd been given the time.

_[Do you want me to come over? You don't have to be alone right now. We can talk, or sit, or just binge some tv if you want]_

Ruby started, not realizing she'd been staring past her wall, at a distant head of fiery hair lying still on the ground…

_[No, I'm fine] _she typed quickly, pushing back against the memories.

_[You sure?] _

She could read the doubt underlying the message, clear as the dawn.

She was _fine_.

_[Yes. It's too cold out to be walking over anyways]_

_[Well… okay. It's alright if you change your mind, just so you know.]_

_[I'm sure. Thank you, Sun]_

_[No problem, Rubes]_

The messages lapsed. She could think of nothing to say, pale fingers hovering over her scroll's keyboard in indecision. Maybe something more domestic?

_[How are Scarlet and Sage doing?]_

It worked. Sun's reply was quick and earnest.

_[They're alright. Scarlet's been pining for Vacuo lately. He hates the cold here]_

_[Why doesn't he?]_

_[Go back? Cuz he's overprotective and thinks I'll stop eating if he leaves me behind. Jerk doesn't think I can take care of myself]_

Ruby lips quirked, amused by their interplay.

_[He might have a point, you know. Talking to girls at ungodly hours isn't a stellar life decision]_

_[Hey, talking to a friend when she can't sleep is different from starving myself]_

_[Touché]_

Her frown slowly fading, Ruby felt herself relax into the dialogue, adrenaline settling, the need to _run_ draining away into nothingness.

Conversation such as this – late at night, bantering or comforting each other in turn – was normal for them. Scrolls still weren't strong enough to transmit between kingdoms, cutting them off from most of their other friends across Remnant, so Ruby and Sun made do with each other. Over time, what had been at best a friendly acquaintance grew into close friendship.

It was a lifeline that both of them desperately needed, more often than they'd admit.

Ruby's fingers danced across the miniature keyboard.

_[And Sage? Any of you take on any assignments while I was gone?]_

_[He's doing alright, same as the rest of us, really. And we had a small one on the outskirts of the city a few days back. A couple Grimm were getting nosy. Me and Scarlet handled it ^.^]_

_[Kind of jealous. Had to kill a Goliath yesterday. Spent four days following its trail. Thing was huge]_

_[Slick! That the class six mission I saw on the board?]_

_[Think so, unless they added another when I wasn't looking]_

_[Guess rent's all taken care of then]_

_[No kidding. Pay's great on some of these jobs]_

_[Sometime you, me, Scarlet and Sage'll have to do one together and throw ourselves a party with it]_

_[Sure, I'll bring the snacks, you bring the hookers. Party, planned]_

_[What makes you think I'd know where to find hookers?]_

Ruby rolled her eyes.

_[It's Mistral. _I _know where to find hookers here]_

_[Eh… point taken. Sensing a story there]_

_[Not much to say. I went exploring the seedy side of town and found a few massage parlors. They weren't actually massage parlors, I'm told]_

_[Do tell]_

_[Like I said, nothing much to say lol. They're in the lower district, southeastern end, near the old pub if you wanna check them out yourself. I didn't go inside because there was this creepy old guy walking out who leered at me]_

_[Nobody can resist the Rose's charms!]_

_[Yeah, well, I kind of showed him Crescent Rose and he lost interest]_

_[Roses, thorns. Scary :P]_

_[Ha ha]_

Sun's reply was longer in coming than the rest.

_[You feeling any better?]_

Ruby paused, fingers hovering over the keyboard. No memories searing into her vision, no ringing in her ears, no racing pulse.

_[Yeah. I am, actually :)]_

_[Wukong: 427, Negativity: 0]_

_[I think you're overselling yourself there, Sun]_

_[No way!]_

The conversation continued, Ruby blinking against tired eyes to continue typing with her friend. Her missions kept her away often; intentional on her part, since she could usually beat back the nightmares if she kept herself occupied enough, but times like these where she could just relax with Sun and act somewhat immature were precious.

_[So lemme tell you about how Scarlet tried to pick up a date the other day…emphasis on tried]_

X_0_X

"So, Rubes. You planning on taking another mission soon?"

They sat together in relative quiet, the café they'd chosen a far cry from the bustling mess it would be during the morning rush in an hour. Neither able to fall back asleep that night, they'd instead chosen to at least start the day together throwing off their collective cloud of fatigue with some caffeinated goodness.

Or Ruby had, at least. Sun refused to touch it. He'd ordered cocoa instead.

Ruby pursed her lips, idly tapping them with her straw. "I think so. You know I don't like hanging around the city for longer than I have to. A few days to rest from the last assignment before I take another. Maybe some low rank jobs for once."

Sun sipped pensively from the polished white mug in his hand, steam rising in delicate wisps from the rim. "I figured."

Just like the day before, Mistral was bitterly cold. A cloud of freezing mist engulfed the city, with only those living on the highest terraces of the upper levels able to walk outside without heavily insulated clothing.

For Ruby, that meant her worn, tattered red cloak over a dark trench coat and cargo pants. For Sun, it meant ditching the casual, chest-baring Vacuo style for a fleecy hoody and jeans. For once in his life he looked somewhat respectable, though the blonde tail idly flicking around behind his ear detracted somewhat from the image.

Still, it was better than the time he'd accidentally whipped up some poor woman's skirt… Ruby hadn't known Sun was a soprano until the moment he turned to apologize and received the point of a heel in the fork of his legs.

Ruby peered at Sun over the rim of her coffee with concern. Shadows ringed the faunus' eyes, and his cheeks sagged. Though still young by any standard, the laugh lines found all over Sun's face only served to age him in the dim lighting.

The blonde took note of her unsubtle examination and smiled weakly. "I know I've got to look like crap right now, but I'm really not that bad."

Ruby was not impressed. "Sun, I don't think you've cracked a single joke since we sat down. That's like, a record for you."

Indignant, Sun looked ready to protest the point for a moment before his eyes flicked down in thought.

"Ehhhh… point," he grumbled.

Silence fell between them.

Ruby itched to break the uncomfortable lull. Having known Sun for over a decade, she knew how out of character it was when he fell to brooding. He normally preferred to confront whatever problems he faced, either with firm confidence or a flippant attitude.

Days like these and the problems they brought however, perfectly disarmed him. With nothing to confront and weighed down by fatigue, it was all she and his remaining team could do at times to draw him out of his shell.

Well, nothing for it.

"So," Ruby drawled awkwardly. "What about you? I mean," she coughed. "Any plans to take a new assignment?"

Sun looked out the window uncertainly. "Yeah, been thinking about it. Sage likes border defenses – not too many Grimm to deal with at any one time, and it pays well – but I'm pretty sure Scarlet's gonna throw a fit if we don't get out to do something challenging soon. He doesn't like not having stuff to work on."

They all tried to keep themselves occupied in some way.

Ruby had found her opening, however.

"Want to go take a look at the board and see if anything catches your eye?" She suggested.

Sun seemed to think about it for a moment, before perking up. "Sounds great to me, Ruby," he answered, smile turning jaunty.

Ruby: 293, Negativity… well, she'd lost count, but she was doing her best!

Gulping the last of her coffee down, Ruby joined the faunus at the counter to leave their mugs for the barista to collect. They left the café, shivering as they stepped into the cold morning air, before moving toward the Huntsmen's Guild where they would find the list of available assignments.

Though it was still early, the city of Mistral was slowly coming to life around them. Smoke rose from hundreds of chimneys as denizens stoked their fireplaces and prepared the morning meal, while the earliest of risers made their way mechanically to wherever they worked, or to the nearest venue serving their fix of morning caffeine.

With something to take his mind off the night before, Sun adopted a much brighter disposition, happy to comment on whatever innocuous detail picked his fancy. Ruby smiled indulgently as he leaned over the railing on the roadside to peek down at the market like a small child.

"Hey Ruby, you gotta come look at this guy – looks like someone forgot he had work in the morning cuz' he's running like he's got the mother of all Deathstalkers on his – Oh ha!" He dissolved into helpless laughter.

Ruby joined him at the ledge, raising a dark eyebrow at Sun. Her companion missed it, having covered his face with one hand as the other pounded on the railing. She nudged him, and he pointed out where she should look.

Ruby giggled.

The poor man, looking like a tiny doll from their vantage point, had stumbled into a fruit stall in his haste and was being viciously torn into by the owner. Even from up there, Ruby could see the crushed produce adorning the man, as well as the vivid yellow banana stuck partially through his button-up shirt.

The two pulled themselves away from the sight as the man pantomimed forgiveness against the owner's vigorously waving arms, shuffling around in his pockets for the lien to pay back the owner.

"You see _that's_ why you've got to be agile as well as fast!" Sun crowed, eyes crinkling at the corners in his mirth.

Ruby mirrored the expression. "And you'd know?"

"Sure I would!" Sun said proudly, pointing to himself. "You're looking at the best troublemaker this side of Remnant. Can't tell you how many times I've had to chase people through crowds without knocking anything over."

Ruby stared at her companion in disbelief. "Chase? You mean being chased, right?"

"You're never gonna let me live down that stowaway thing, are you?"

Her smile grew just a touch vicious, all the answer needed. Pride soundly punctured, Sun marched ahead with just a touch more pouting than he thought he probably realized. Watching her friend, Ruby's smile dropped away.

_Chasing the competition, falling slowly behind. Telltale spiked blonde hair disappearing into the crowd – hearing a surprised grunt, she sped around the corner, saw her PARTNER lying tangled with someone else…_

"_Sal-u-tations!" _

Ruby felt something pinch in her chest and breathed deeply. Mechanically forcing one foot in front of another, she put the shadows out of mind and kept moving, determined not to lose Sun in the crowd again.

They descended to the lower level, suddenly surrounded by the sounds of early risers and shopkeepers hawking their wares.

"Fine jewelry for your little lady!"

"Meat, fresh in from Wind Path!"

"Hey…! You cheat! This lien is no good! Get back here with my merchandise!"

"Only the freshest produce here at my stall!"

Sun breathed deep of the morning air, content to be surrounded by such controlled chaos. At ease herself while surrounded by the growing bustle of humanity, Ruby felt her mood lift again.

They drew stares from Mistral's citizens as they passed. Even without their weapons, any huntsman could be easily recognized by their appearance alone. Few could match the predatory grace that even most novice students walked with, nor the unique style that came with the vocation.

That said, Ruby and Sun were a familiar sight around Mistral already, so the stares lacked the usual veiled apprehension that many couldn't help when faced with such dangerous unknowns.

Pulling her expression into something more confident and _respectable_ while forcibly ignoring her companion's giggles behind her – could he forget about the fruit vendor for just a few minutes? The man was visible just a few stalls down; she didn't think his expression was _that_ funny – Ruby strode up to the man hawking fresh meat.

"Huntress Rose!" the man – Sunil, she knew - grinned, hands rubbing together in anticipation. "And Sun Wukong. What brings you to my stand? Looking for a fine cut, or perhaps a fresh rack of ribs? I've got it all here, fresh from Wind Path."

Ruby shook her head. "I'm not looking for anything at the moment," she declined. "Just wondering if the caravan saw anything bad between here and there?"

She felt Sun disappear behind her, happy to let her take this one.

"Ah, thankfully not. Nothing unexpected at least," Sunil smiled. "Some Beowolves, some Creeps, but nothing unusual." Understandably, he seemed pleased with the caravan's good fortune.

Ruby nodded, having expected as much. "Glad to hear it, Sunil. You know where to find me if anything happens."

Sunil clapped his powerful hands together. "Indeed, I do! If that's all then, I bid you happy hunting!"

Ruby stepped away, rising up on her toes to look for Sun. Where did the faunus get – oh.

She sighed.

It was normal practice for them to ask around the market for rumors of Grimm in need of chasing. It was also normal, if more than a little annoying, for Ruby to find Sun chatting up some blushing widow or housewife. Ruby was the _respectable_ one around here, while Sun was better known as the man anybody and their mother could have a good time talking to.

Ruby pouted. Sometimes it wasn't _fair_ when Sun showed off his superior social skills.

Marching over, she caught the eye of the woman Sun was entertaining, the twenty-something brunette smiling secretively as the huntress stopped short of her companion and tilted her head, eyes narrow in thought.

"-and then he just _plows_ into the stand and goes tumbling and it was about the funniest thing I've seen in ages!" Sun recounted animatedly, ignorant of her presence behind him.

Ruby scoffed. At least he was predictable. She cleared her throat, the brunette giggling as Sun froze and spun on the spot, eyes wide.

"Find any interesting leads, friend?"

The faunus cleared his throat sheepishly. "Ah-hmmm. Nope! Nothing yet, Rubes."

A dark eyebrow, already raised in faux-shock, lifted even higher. Sun drooped, turning back to the now-smirking woman. "Ah, well, it was good to meet you Mara," he said, rubbing the back of his head.

"You as well Mr. Wukong. I'll have to tell my husband all about that little debacle – Mr. Konomi _has_ been asking for a little misfortune of late, what with his temper," Mara smiled, winking at Ruby playfully as she returned to setting up her wares.

Sufficiently cowed, Sun wasted no more time as the pair went from stall to stall, asking after any news from the other cities and the wilderness beyond. Save for a few scattered attacks along the roads, the only notable news they encountered came from the western end of Lake Matsu. One of the settlements there had apparently been annihilated by rampant Grimm, the survivors fleeing to other settlements deeper in the swamps.

While this would ordinarily be cause for interest for the two, there were already teams in the area cleaning up the mess of Grimm left behind, and fortifications being built around nearby settlements to prevent panic from spreading.

It was a tragedy, but with further crises averted the two were left with nothing substantial from their inquiries. Not a bad thing, but it left them with the more banal missions the guild always had in abundance.

As the two entered the quiet building, they sighed. The mist had already begun to recede along with the worst of the chill, but it was still uncomfortably cold out and there was a pleasant fire roaring against the far wall.

Per ingrained habit, Ruby's eyes swept over the room, noting that Li's shift had ended. His replacement, a small, dark haired woman with sparkling green eyes, perked up as Ruby met her gaze. The huntress could only blink at the not-quite-so-normal realization that she had at least half a decade on the clerk, who seemed only just past her teenage years.

"Welcome!" she greeted energetically, head bobbing as she bounced on her heels. "Are you two looking for anything in particular?"

Probably a new employee. Ruby wondered what had happened to Vanna, who usually handled the morning shift.

"Just checking out the assignment board," Sun replied warmly. The young woman's attention immediately shifted to him, eyes flicking up and down. Ruby rolled her eyes. Leaving Sun to engage her in conversation, Ruby turned away to focus on the digital touchscreen listing the most current assignments.

With long practice, it had become simple to tune out Sun's baffling energy – he hadn't _slept_ in at least two days, how did he manage to be so peppy when she needed coffee to function? – and it was just as simple to ignore the clerk's bubbly personality.

Silver eyes examined each description as she scrolled down the list of assignments. Patrol missions… bleh. They were a dime a dozen, as even when technically unnecessary the kingdoms preferred to keep them flowing. One never knew when pockets of Grimm would begin to encroach on friendly territory, after all.

Nothing she was interested in, however.

Another assignment to track down and eliminate a Beowolf pack roaming the base of Mt. Naili… led by an Alpha? That was intriguing, if not all that thrilling. Alphas weren't rare but tended to keep to themselves. Only the older specimens tried to take command of their younger peers and form the more dangerous packs.

Beowolves were Beowolves, however, and the area was too remote for it to be a pressing issue.

Plenty of reports of individual powerful Grimm. Middle-aged Alphas wandering in their solitude or nuisance cases that the smaller villages couldn't handle alone. No Ancients on the table, fortunately. There were plenty around Mistral, she was sure, but they were too canny to allow themselves to be so easily tracked.

They would only emerge amidst fire and death. No sane hunter relished in those assignments.

Ruby paused over a report of a pack of Deathstalkers, scanning the description. While yet to become notorious for any reason, they'd begun to encroach on the territory of some of the isolated mountain villages in south-central Anima. Given that the reports were already a month old upon arrival, that might have even changed by now.

Not for the first time Ruby cursed the lack of efficient communication in Mistral. While the kingdom had never lost its CCT Tower, the further away from the capital one moved the less likely you were to get a signal. The ruling council had consistently refused to implement boosting towers in the most isolated areas of the kingdom, leaving it to the occasional bullhead visit or foot travel to move information around.

Pursing her lips, Ruby tapped the mission. While the other assignments were important in their own right, this one was unlikely to receive attention from other huntsmen for at least another week.

With a pleasant chime, a window popped up:

'_YOU HAVE SELECTED A CLASS 4 SEARCH AND DESTROY MISSION. DO YOU ACCEPT?'_

'_Would I have selected it if I didn't want to accept?'_

Sun's hand came down on her shoulder as she tapped 'YES.' Ruby jumped at the contact, looking up at her companion.

"Guess you're gonna be heading out sooner than expected, aren't ya?" he commented drily.

Ruby flushed. They were just here to look at potential assignments… but the moment Ruby considered putting it off she could only picture the destruction a pack of Deathstalkers - and really any kind of Grimm - could wreak if left to their own devices.

It was never a pretty picture. She'd read more than enough reports and seen the results firsthand far too many times.

Sun didn't seem too ruffled, if the wry glint in his eyes was to be trusted. "You wouldn't be Ruby Rose if you weren't looking out for others instead of yourself." He shook his head in fond exasperation. "At least promise me to get some actual sleep before you head out?"

Ruby punched his shoulder. "I'm not that bad." She protested.

"Bull_shit_, Rubes. Complete bullshit."

"Jerk."

"Heh. I'm right though."

Ruby scowled as the clerk giggled inanely. Jerks.

X_0_X

The low roar of the bullhead's engines on the tarmac split the morning air. Busy handing her heavy pack of supplies to the operator inside, Ruby tried to ignore the cacophony, as well as the worried look that Sun gave the back of her head.

'_Hypocrite.'_

Touched though she was by his concern, another part of her was wholeheartedly annoyed that Sun could be concerned for _her_ welfare when _he_ had barely managed a scant few hours of sleep in the last three days. Ruby had been tempted to knock the faunus out cold directly when he'd shown up at her doorstep that morning, swaying on his feet and far too pale to be healthy.

_She_ had kept her promise, forcing down the nightmares to catch a solid night's rest. In hindsight, she ought to have drawn a similar pact from her fellow huntsman.

Sadly, she was on a timetable and reluctantly accepted his company, though only after he'd promised to _lie down_ for a couple hours after she was gone. Threatening to interrogate Scarlet on the matter on her return ensured that it would be a promise kept, or there would be hell to pay.

One of the bullhead's two pilots, a flax-haired Atlesian, gave Ruby a thumbs-up as she finished strapping down the last of her provisions. Her ire vanishing suddenly, and with nothing left to distract her from the impending goodbye, Ruby turned to Sun, awkwardly wringing her hands.

The furrowed brow, narrow eyes and frown spoke volumes of what he thought of her leaving.

"I'm going to be alright, Sun," she said firmly, pulling her hands behind her back. Silver eyes dared him to contradict her. The faunus' frown deepened, but his hesitation finally broke.

"I know," Sun admitted despondently. "This isn't any trouble for you. I just can't help feeling worried."

Ruby pulled him into a hug, squeezing as tightly as she could. As a huntress, with arms corded with lithe, hard muscle, that was pretty tight. Sun groaned under the assault but squeezed her back all the same.

"Just be careful, alright?" he muttered. "I don't like it when friends are in danger and I can't help."

Ruby pulled away, quietly pleased as Sun not-subtly sucked in a breath of air and grinned impishly. "Me? When am I not careful?"

Sun leveled a flat look at her.

…

Jerk. Fine, it was a valid concern.

"You two finished back there? We're on a tight schedule to get you south, huntress," one of the pilots called from the cockpit.

Ruby jumped at the interruption, then stuck her tongue out at Sun when he began shepherding her into the airship with a few shooing motions.

Ruby pulled herself up into the bullhead's fuselage, quickly turning back to the faunus as the craft began humming louder. He sent her a lopsided grin and a wave in lieu of a goodbye (not that she'd have heard one anyways), and then the doors slid shut around her, cutting her off from the outside world.

The bullhead rumbled, blaring the Mistral model's ubiquitous sonar call. With a tired sigh, Ruby sat herself on one of the benches and prepared for a long flight.

* * *

**It's amazing to me that I'm finally beginning this. The original plan was to finish the entire story before I began posting, but around 90k I began hitting a wall and decided that I'd start posting chapters, hopefully getting some inspiration along the way. That being said, the first third of the story is already done, pending some edits - while the rest is generously planned out. **

**Hopefully you all enjoyed, and please leave a review! **


	2. Horikiri

**Thank you very much for the response to the first chapter - I was expecting much less than what I got, and I'm overjoyed to be wrong haha. Please enjoy the second chapter of The Last Rose!**

**Disclaimer: I do not own RWBY or its characters, I'm merely playing in the sandbox.**

* * *

"_You want to know what I'm afraid of, kiddo?" Her uncle softly blew out his flaming marshmallow before he answered her. Ruby wondered why his breath didn't catch fire like before. "I'll tell you what it is: it's the same thing that every _real_ huntsman or huntress will tell you they fear…"_

_She waited a few seconds; they were an eternity to her young mind._

"…_Well?! Don't be mean, Uncle Qrow! What is it?"_

_He barked a laugh. "It's… That moment. The one where you realize that your luck has turned on you. The moment when things have gone to shit, the tide has turned, and the hunter has become the prey. It can happen on any mission, at any time, against any kind of enemy, and all huntsmen are guaranteed to have it happen at least once in their lives."_

_Ruby nearly dropped her s'more, she was so bewildered. "Whaaa - But you're all hoowah! and witchaa! and super cool with Harbinger and all! What could ever beat you?"_

"_Heh." Qrow let his eyes close and a shadow passed over his face. Ruby frowned. "You'd be surprised. Even badasses like me get tired and distracted, even though we try not to make a habit out of it."_

_Ruby tilted her head to the side. "Hmm. I think you're just making excuses for getting old!"_

"_Hey!"_

…

_Of course, I later learned that in this, as with a lot of things, Uncle Qrow was telling the truth. I'm afraid of a lot of things, and I think he was too. But every huntsman will experience _this _fear at some point in their careers. _

_Suffice to say, I survived. Not everyone does. _

_Obviously._

X_0_X

A gentle rain pattered on the hull of the bullhead. It was a soothing counterpoint to the constant hum of the engines and pulsing sonar.

'…_known to encircle their prey before closing in with their pincers to crush armor and/or tear flesh. Collective intelligence estimated to be mid-to-low; they are known to leave carcasses desecrated in easily spotted locations, but only display rudimentary tactical abilities. Likely gained experience attacking smaller villages (See page 6 for details), but have yet to move beyond their preferred methods of psychological warfare…'_

Ruby perused the detailed reports on her target, provided by various village scouts from southern Anima.

It was impressively comprehensive. While huntsmen were relied upon for most of the actual killing, many villages fielded small fighting forces that specialized in reconnaissance and ambush tactics in addition to their defensive garrisons. They would either provide huntsmen with the best information possible for their assignments, or they would take care of what they could through subterfuge and surprise.

It made jobs like this much simpler to prepare for. Instead of spending a week in the field simply tracking her target and getting a feel for their abilities, she started with relatively-fresh information on their location, preferred haunts, and the threat they posed.

Assuming the Grimm didn't play up their habits for an advantage. Or change tactics abruptly when faced with a greater threat. Some of the craftier few had been known to take advantage of their species' reputation for predictability.

'…_greatest threat is posed to Horikiri. Our village is well defended by the sheer cliffs on our eastern and western flanks, but cannot stand against a concentrated force for long, and we have few options for our outlying farms…'_

The village was desperate, having already lost a family of five on the outskirts and two guards sent to repel another attack closer to the wall fencing them in. Ruby scowled, sorely regretting the delay in information. How many more had died since the report was sent?

'…_They are emboldened by their numbers. We have repelled their probes for several weeks, but the situation has quickly grown from routine to untenable…'_

Ruby read through the last few pages, flicking back to review a few entries before she closed the report, tucking her scroll away in one of the many pouches on the belt of her huntress' garb.

Defined by dark reds and blacks, her preferred style had changed little from her days at Beacon and the years following its fall. It would have been an insult to Crescent Rose if she shifted her look toward something that didn't complement its menacing visage.

Her red cloak, worn, tattered, and given to her so long ago, rested comfortably across her shoulders, hood down to reveal the long braid she'd cultivated. Streaked red, her obsidian locks had been twisted into an efficient braid, pulled over her shoulder to rest on her chest.

Long hair had never been her 'thing,' but after so long living with it she'd come to appreciate it. The braid was a concession to how much it got in the way left loose; she'd never understood how her sis-

_Locks shining gold like the sun flared behind a sun-streaked face, eyes burning RED in fury, sparking flames dancing amidst the curls, hands clenched in fists rose in readiness for combat, craving fire, blood, and PAIN._

**Thump.**

Ruby shied away from the line of thought furiously. She liked her hair the way it was. That was it. There was nothing else. She had an assignment to complete.

Suddenly craving comfort, Ruby pulled Crescent Rose closer to her, letting the familiar sound of sliding metal fill her ears as her baby unfolded itself into its fearsome scythe form.

Her fingers stroked across the cool metal, tracing all of the nicks and scars that covered her pride and joy; that made the work of art what it _was_. She could never bring herself to paint over the imperfections streaking it. It would be a lie, covering up the suffering it had gone through over all the years she and it had danced together. Her only concession had been to mend the gouges and dents that threatened to restrict the scythe's transformation sequence if left alone.

Ruby ran her eyes along Crescent Rose's length, seeking any of those flaws, fingers no longer affectionate but instead moving over the scythe's length in search of the imperfections that would put them both in danger.

There were none, of course. Crescent Rose was maintained by _her_ careful hands, after all. Not a day went by that she didn't go over it, taking it slowly apart to make sure the insides were all in order, and sharpening the blade with her trusty whetstone…

She tapped the transformation switch, satisfied by the examination, and set Crescent Rose to the side.

Her hand dropped to her waist, resting on the soft hilt of her other weapon.

Heron, she'd taken to calling it in absence of any knowledge of what its previous owner had named it. If _she_ had named it at all.

Ruby unsheathed it with a flourish, spinning it in her hand and refamiliarizing herself with its heft and balance. Lacking a pommel, it was unlike Harbinger, Crocea Mors, or any other sword she'd known; instead its grip simply extended to the end of the sword, capped off by a simple metal piece that Ruby had had to add herself.

Beyond that had once extended a long, prehensile wire to control and manipulate the blade, relieving _her_ of the need to hold it personally in the first place.

The blade was irregular, a ramrod straight spine edged in three places, forming two distinctly triangular shapes to deliver death and pain to its victims. The hilt, circular and irregular like everything that was associated with the sword, proudly displayed the Atlesian 'standby' symbol, standard for all of their products…

It once glowed a vivid electric green, pulsing in time with its owner's aura. Now it was a subdued velvety red, dark and broody against the black plate.

Ruby ran her finger along the blade, mindful of the razor-sharp edge the metal never seemed to lose. In all the years she'd carried it, it had never required sharpening, being smelted from some rare Atlesian alloy too expensive for even most huntsmen to incorporate into their own weapons.

'Heron' was – historically – the name of an eccentric hermit and ancient genius, known to experiment with all sorts of things, including the first conceptual automata… It had seemed fitting.

There were no imperfections on the blade. No scars, no nicks, no dents. It was perfect, like it always was, untouchable. In that way, it too was irregular. Just like its owner.

She flicked the activation switch she'd had to add to its design, swapping it into its pistol form and back again, and sheathed it. Ruby then tucked her hands under her arms, keenly feeling their chill all of a sudden…

…

Breathe.

…

Slowly, her fists loosened, and the tension drained from her shoulders. Her spine lost the steel that kept it stiff, and her jaw unclenched.

Breathe.

The moment past, and lacking anything else to do, Ruby leaned back in her seat with a sigh and began to mentally review the many potential scenarios she might encounter on the assignment, as well as tactics she could use to counter them.

It was an effective distraction.

X_0_X

Ruby landed on her feet, knees bending to distribute the force of the drop, hours later.

Above her head, the airship had already begun to pull away from the forest canopy, the pilots wary for any signs of approaching Grimm – especially Nevermore. It wasn't unknown for the most daring individuals to attack lonely transport flights when they thought they could get away with it.

Thankfully, there wasn't any snow for her to sink into for her to worry about this far south. Grateful for the higher temperature, Ruby dropped her hands to her waist, running her fingers along her supplies and mentally checking off everything.

Map. Pouches. Scroll. Crescent Rose. Heron. Pocket-knife. Canteen. All check.

Shifting the weight of her pack of supplies and equipment on her shoulders, and tightening the strap across her waist, Ruby nodded to herself. Everything was in order.

Her eyes darted across the area, noting the faint traces of Grimm still left over from the scouts' original report a month prior. Bark scraped away from several large, passing bodies. Broken undergrowth growing back, a sign of nature reclaiming what had been stamped into the mud. But no footprints.

Recalling the weather reports from over the last few weeks, Ruby shook her head. Those would have washed away with the rains. The front that she'd moved through on the journey would have been here mere days, if not hours before.

There was something else of note, however. The slightest prickle of sensation, playing at her instincts and just barely tangible. Her eyes darted around the clearing, noting the absence of animal life, taking in the silence.

She was being watched.

It was far too quiet, the expected sounds of life amidst so much wilderness were muted and far away. Possibly because of the bullhead?

Ruby frowned, considering what he could do with the observation… before she compartmentalized the feeling. As a huntress she had learned to trust her instincts, but she had also learned not to stress too much in similar situations. Whatever was watching her was, at least for the moment, not a threat, and her assignment could be time sensitive.

Shooting the clearing a last, wary look, she began following the Deathstalkers' trail, setting a familiar brisk pace she knew she could maintain all day with only minimal rest.

Behind her, a long, dark shape withdrew into its hollow beneath the dense undergrowth.

X_0_X

Sun was a fucking hypocrite, and he knew it.

Around him he could hear the sounds of his teammates as they puttered around their small home in the residential district of Mistral. The scrape of Sage's chair against the floor as he made to bring the dishes from his morning meal to the sink. The fond bickering he and Scarlet partook in as they pushed and competed for space at the sink.

Distractions. There were too many. Always were.

…Don't lie.

Externally he could make all the excuses he wanted, but he knew it wasn't the noise that kept him awake right then, when he'd promised Ruby he'd be catching up on lost sleep. No.

Worry gnawed him. It wrestled away any semblance of control he had over his rest and held it above his head like a schoolyard bully.

When he'd shambled across the threshold, that morning, still shivering from the cold morning air, Scarlet'd taken one look at him and demanded he go straight to bed. No ifs, no buts, just firm command in his eyes.

Masculine pride demanded that Sun protest. He should have mocked his teammate for acting like a mother hen and plopped down on the couch for some good ol' television. He should have ignored the disapproving glare and proved the defiance in his soul.

Instead, Sun had numbly accepted his teammate's demand, kicked off his damp boots, and collapsed onto his soft mattress, lights flicking off behind him as Scarlet shut the door with a lingering look.

He was _bone_-tired. Insomnia was a bitch.

It had been a fairly good week, too. He'd snatched a few hours of rest each and every night and made his way through the day with relative ease. It was downright _pleasant_ being able to interact with his team like a normal person. The mood around the house had lifted so much it was almost a tangible brightness in the air.

Then he'd gone to sleep and dreamt of Neptune, blue hair, style, cool-dude embodied. His brother in arms. His partner.

Gone.

Waking up with a panic attack was nothing new to him; it happened with depressing regularity, the short pulse-pounding episodes sending him to his feet to pace and massage his chest, desperately going through the motions of the breathing techniques that Ruby had coached him through dozens of times before, as he had with her.

She wasn't there, this last time, either to get him through it or bring him down afterwards. It'd been Scarlet to find him on the couch in the morning, staring at the ceiling with bloodshot eyes and a deep frown on his face.

His expression? Empathetic. It always was. And he'd done everything he could to make Sun comfortable, which Sun appreciated. But it always lacked that final step of understanding he could find with Ruby...

Scarlet tried. Sage too. But they didn't have the same problems with moving on that Sun and Ruby and gods-know-how-many-others dealt with. They were lucky like that. They knew what it was like, but they didn't _understand_.

Sun shifted under his sheets, trying to find a new spot of coolness against his skin, to press the soles of his feet against. He was warm again – too warm. Outside, someone dropped a utensil. It clattered loudly, metallic against the granite countertop.

Ruby understood. Too well. Sun wished she didn't.

Ruby was pure. She was good and kind and brave. And as her friend, Sun knew she also suffered far more than he did without her team beside her to support her through her mourning. They added to it instead.

He didn't envy her. At his worst, he could barely stand the thought of his partner, but he knew that even at her best Ruby avoided those memories.

Just like Scarlet and Sage, he didn't understand. He knew enough, just like she knew enough about his struggle, but it was never enough. He wasn't the one she needed.

The only three with any hope of filling that role were lost to some Atlesian battlefield; the Valean memorial honoring every huntsman and fallen civilian from the conflict immortalizing their memory for everyone except the one who needed it the most.

He lifted his hands to rub at his eyes. They were so dry it felt like he was in Vacuo again, wiping away grit and dust and craving clean water. But just for his eyes. Every other part of him was either too hot or too cold. Never comfortable.

The bed creaked below him as he rolled over, jostling for some comfort.

He was a hypocrite. A_ fucking_ hypocrite, at that. He _knew_ that he had drawn a promise from Ruby to get some sleep, to be _safe_, to come back home in one piece _please_, and he couldn't do this one thing right when she asked him.

Useless.

Sun growled, frustrated, and rolled over again. Scarlet and Sage chatted outside – preparing to go out shopping for their assignment tomorrow.

He needed to fucking _sleep_, Dust damn it!

He was worried about Ruby. He knew he'd worked himself up to it last night, while Ruby had forced herself to get the sleep she needed for the day. In lieu of any real ability to rest himself, he'd tormented himself with the image of his friend alone in the forest, surrounded by Grimm. She was so strong, so talented, but there would always be a mistake. A misplaced foot, or perhaps the Grimm would have some crafty trick to pull, always something that would take her by surprise.

Red – not like roses, but scarlet like blood and all-too-prominent in those ghastly visions – and Sun would soon be on his feet, pacing away his anxiety. He'd work himself down, pull the sheets back over him and tuck his head between his pillows hoping that the wind would die down and give him some _peace_, but when that would fail he'd be at it again and the cycle would repeat itself, eating him alive.

If this had been years ago, before the Fall and the events that followed that would rip everything away from him (not Scarlet, not Sage, not Ruby, he reminded himself), Sun knew that Neptune would have been there to help him through the nights.

His partner would be there for him like he would be there for his partner. They were the best of friends, the closest of duos, complementing each other's style and personality. The dream team could never die, nor succumb to weakness like this.

Except it had.

One half died, the other succumbed.

Weak.

'_Stop it man,'_ Sun scolded himself suddenly, furious that he'd let his thoughts start down that road. '_You're better than this.'_

The door outside opened and closed. Sun could hear his teammates' conversation fade away beyond even his faunus-enhanced hearing, leaving him with the creak of the walls and the wind whirling by outside.

Sun squeezed his eyes shut. He was so tired…

Ruby…

'_You guys are all keeping an eye on her, right?'_ he thought suddenly, willing his thoughts to reach the three people he knew were most likely to hear them. _'Keep her safe, will you? So I don't need to worry so much.'_

Eyes opening to slits for a moment, he waited for an answer.

Nothing.

Of course, Sun sighed. Rolling again, he tried to make himself comfortable, hoping that his prayer would be heard.

X_0_X

The smoke led her here.

It could be smelled for miles, its presence sending spikes of worry up Ruby's spine as she peered through Crescent Rose's scope at the pack of Deathstalkers below. Their condition was hardly comforting.

Broken armor, shattered bones, reduced to six instead of the thirteen she'd been aware of, and nursing open wounds that bled the scarlet tar that passed for blood in Grimm. The pack was in shambles, and to someone of her experience it was obvious what had brought them so low. No huntsman could recreate the unrestricted savagery of some of the injuries she saw.

Her job had become much more complex, as it always did when Grimm got territorial with each other.

Such things were rare, since Grimm were usually more than happy to give each other the space they needed to survive. When it came to humans, however, they became unpredictable and deadly.

When they detected vulnerability, they might be found working together to overcome whatever defenses they encountered – prioritizing their lust for human suffering over whatever animal rivalries they held. But old, powerful Grimm were greedy. When they knew they could take a settlement alone, they would be vicious in their reprisal against interlopers, each violently protective of their kills.

Whatever ancient horror lashed out at this pack was powerful, and that boded very poorly for Horikiri and its people.

Which meant she had to be quick.

_Crack!_

Crescent Rose barked. The leader of the pack dropped to the ground instantly, skull beneath the bony shell of its head turning to a fine red paste as the dust round met its mark.

Utter silence fell for a split second as the remaining Grimm turned as one to look at their leader as it began to dissolve into black mist.

_Crack!_

Behind the jaw, in the chink where it its head flowed into the torso. The second Grimm sank to the ground and the remaining four spun to face Ruby in her perch, malevolent crimson eyes locking onto her with disturbing intensity.

_Crack! Crack!_

The third skidded on the ground as the two rounds pierced the two largest eyes, bypassing the plate guarding the rest of its head entirely. The surviving Deathstalkers were nearly on her position by then, however, so Ruby lowered Crescent Rose and tensed her legs for impact.

_Crash-Snap!_

The tree buckled beneath her. Ruby leapt, the world around her tinging scarlet as she blurred forward with her semblance. Everything slowed as she brought Crescent Rose around, twisting her body to take aim.

_Crack!_

Not a killing blow. The shot crippled the laggard of the group, thick blood erupting from the hole she'd punched into root of the only leg it wasn't treating gingerly on its left side. The massive beast staggered, its weight suddenly too much to hold with the crippled limbs.

_Crack!_

Ruby landed in a deep crouch, knees bending to distribute the force of her fall, hastened by her shot's recoil. Effortlessly, her finger tapped the transformation switch as she blurred forward, Crescent Rose unfolding into its full glory just as she came out of her semblance in a magnificent slide underneath its carapace. She drove the point of the blade into the Deathstalker's softer underbelly, relishing in the agonized shriek she drew before it suddenly died, dissolving above her.

_Slide right._

_Crack!_

Her feet skidded as another Grimm charged her former position, far too slow.

_Forward!_

The world blurred. She let her weight drop, the hardened, sun-dried earth of the clearing the perfect surface for her to repeat the tactic, sliding underneath and ripping open flesh with her baby.

The fifth Grimm died with a pathetic gurgle.

She pushed off with a hand on the ground, throwing her weight forward and distributing the momentum into a somersault. Ruby grinned viciously, blood pumping and adrenaline spiking high and _natural_ for once as she finished on her feet, Crescent Rose glinting dangerously in the light behind her.

She felt _alive_, confident, _deadly_. Just like she was meant to be.

The single remaining Deathstalker held its distance warily, spitting at her in high-pitched whines and shrieks. This one obviously wasn't stupid; it knew her now, having watched her pick apart its entire pack in mere seconds.

Her grin widened, all teeth. That just made it more _fun_.

Seconds passed, tense, all sound absent from their surroundings save for those made by the two combatants.

By some unspoken signal, the Deathstalker reared back and charged, deceptively quick on its short legs with its incredible bulk. Ruby's grip tightened on Crescent Rose as she prepared to throw herself underneath it once more.

She moved.

Something grabbed her legs and she stumbled.

Her eyes widened in bewilderment as her center of balance disappeared, sending her crashing to the ground.

_Thump. _

Time slowed, and her eyes darted to her feet, breath hitching.

'_The hell?' _

Two dark and resinous vines anchored her in place. They were absolutely covered in pulsing, sickly black veins, utterly anathema to the otherwise plantlike appearance.

_Thump. _

Time slowed, her perceptions shrinking until the space between heartbeats passed like minutes. The Deathstalker was far too close, seconds from being on her. Ruby twisted, painfully slow, impossibly fast, bringing Crescent Rose down on the tendrils, freeing one leg.

_Thump._

The vines flailed wildly, withdrawing into the ground with unnatural haste. She pulled Crescent Rose up for the others. Too late.

_Thump. _

Her breath left her as the Deathstalker's vice-like claws closed around her chest, her scarlet aura flaring into visibility as it strained to protect her from being vivisected. It lifted her into the air, for a brief moment nearly ripping her leg out by the root as the tendrils held firm.

Then they loosened, purpose apparently accomplished. Ruby didn't have time to dwell on it.

_Thump. _

She dropped Crescent Rose, her weapon useless to her in such confined quarters. Ruby could feel her heart pumping wildly in her chest, every single nerve in her body alive with sensation – Pain!

_Thump._

She wrapped her fingers around Heron, gripping the hilt like a lifeline.

_Thump. _

Her aura strained. She felt the fatigue setting in as it sapped the strength from her limbs to sustain itself. She drew her sword with all the haste she could muster.

_Thump. _

Twisting the blade around, Ruby maneuvered it to face the vulnerable chink in the Deathstalker's armored pincer: the intersection of the two claws where the tendons that strained so hard to kill her were located, just as she'd been told in Grimm Studies.

The monster shrieked.

_Thu-ump._

Ruby dropped to the ground, sucking in a deep breath as the Deathstalker reared back in agony, her former prison hanging uselessly open. The slit tendons smoked and bled, oily scarlet mixing with acrid black dust.

'_Thank you, Professor Port,' _she briefly thought, quickly running through her options.

She didn't have the time to reclaim Crescent Rose. It was too close to the Deathstalker. No matter. Heron was more than enough. It would be wary, what would…? Yes. That would work.

Readjusting her grip on Heron, Ruby tensed her legs, eyes darting between her feet and the Grimm. She wouldn't fall to the same deception twice.

She charged.

The Grimm's other claw thrust at her. She dove, somersaulting below the massive appendage, coming up between it and the monster's face. Ruby thrust Heron into a crimson eye, heedless of the champing mandibles below her elbow. Her teeth ground together as metal scraped rudely against bone.

The Deathstalker _screamed_.

She twisted Heron, feeling bone crack and the sickening sound of tearing meat.

The Grimm reared up on its back legs. Ruby yanked Heron back before it could be ripped away from her as her foe swung its head back and forth, spitting as agony overwhelmed its every sense. Its massive body twitched at random intervals, claws pounding at the air as though it were boxing an unseen enemy.

For a few seconds, she watched the Grimm, breathing tight and controlled, and viewed the damage she'd caused. The rush of the fight still drummed through her veins.

Ruby clamped down on it, breathing deeply through her nose to soften her pulse. Her eyes fluttered shut, relishing the moment of triumph.

Then they snapped open, silver pools examining the thrashing beast critically, evaluating.

She had a job to finish. The smell of smoke was thicker in the air already. Now that she wasn't focused on surviving to the next second it was impossible to ignore. Wood and oil, with a hint of Dust's telltale acridity mixed in.

Ruby crossed the short distance to Crescent Rose, keeping a careful eye on the Deathstalker in case it made any unexpected moves.

It didn't. She'd probably hit something important.

Heron went back into its sheath, her fingers lingering on the hilt a moment in thanks for her life. Crescent Rose clicked back into sniper form, rising to press into her shoulder. She leaned into the stock, cheek warm against the metal where they kissed.

_Crack!_

Ruby turned away from the disintegrating corpse, nose twitching in displeasure as the temporary but foul scent of decaying Grimm filled the clearing. She was more concerned about the smoke. It was growing thicker by the minute.

She felt dread growing within her, settling in her gut like a heavy stone.

Pausing only to check over her supplies, Ruby jogged over to where she'd left her bag. Map, bag, Scroll, weapons, canteen, pack. Everything was in order.

She tilted her head tilted back to look above the canopy. Blue skies as far as the eye could see, littered with fluffy white clouds. The retreating grey line in the distance was a mere memory of the bad weather that had run through here not so long ago.

The simple beauty was marred by the rising column of darkness to the south. Ruby sighed, eyes squeezing shut for a moment, the stone growing heavier. Though it was only midmorning, the village was hours away by foot, as far south as one could go without crossing the mountains. She didn't relish the idea of confronting the Grimm she'd find there in the dark, nor whatever sights would be there to greet her.

Nevertheless, Ruby shouldered her pack, tightening it against her body and ignoring the slight aches that came from her aura drawing on her body's vitality. It would be a long, exhausting march.

And she knew what she would find at the end.

X_0_X

Twilight cloaked the land, but night had already fallen on Horikiri.

Ruby coughed harshly into her fist, arm raised against the plume of oily smoke blown into her face by the wind. The stuff was an omnipresent shadow, veiling everything in dust and darkness. She'd already passed several of the outlying farms mentioned in the reports, each a ruin of what they had once been.

The culprit was hardly subtle, not even bothering to mask its presence. Its massive footprints were impossible to miss – each a pit Ruby could have fit herself into, sunken deep into the soft loam of the fields.

Distantly, a part of her was grateful for the rains that had passed through the area. The moisture in the air as well as what had seeped into the ground and vegetation would go a long way to prevent the fires from spreading. Embers floated through the air, only to fizzle out and die as they drifted down to earth. They were fireflies, spots of beauty flitting through the ashes choking the village.

A simple beauty ignored.

Ruby felt empty. Hollow, like the burnt-out husks she'd passed that had once been homes.

Horikiri burned.

Though weaker than the conflagration that certainly consumed it hours before, the sheer cliffs of the ravine the village rested in at the head of the valley still danced with shadows, flickering orange, black, and red. Above the cackling flames she could hear something massive picking through the ruins, shifting rubble and splintered wood.

Corpses lined the path to the wall, black and desiccated. Ruby had no idea what possible reason the Grimm could have for defiling them so save for intimidation and the satisfaction of making every last moment as excruciating as possible.

If that was its goal, it was successful. Their shriveled visages, twisted in their final expressions of fear, terror, and despair were soul-crushing.

Crescent Rose was a quiet counterpoint to the sounds tormenting her ears, the familiar sliding metal and clicks comforting as she absently shifted it back and forth through its weapon modes.

Her hands clenched the snath tightly, her knuckles white and shaking. The dry air gently caressed her cheeks, but she could feel the wetness gather there in shining streams, silver pools locked on the blackened faces. Was this all that these people felt, before the end?

She felt sick, but it was growing fainter, her emotions draining away more with each and every corpse she passed after leaving the tree line on the village outskirts. Here, looking upon the broken ruins, there was no anger, no fury, no sorrow or chilled horror. Not anymore. Just the remains welding together into fierce resolve.

She was too late.

Again.

But she would avenge these people on their murderer.

Ruby moved with haste, leaving her bag where she would be able to easily retrieve it on her return. Her steps crunched on the gravel, soft ashes not yet thick enough to obscure the sound. She struggled to avoid inhaling a lungful of ash and smoke as they thickened around their source.

She stopped a few feet beyond the wall, staring through the gaping hole that had been ripped in it, wide enough that ten of her could walk through shoulder-to-shoulder. The crushed remnants of the structure were strewn about like toy blocks.

Somewhere within, a house collapsed, sending soot and embers flying.

Ruby shielded her mouth with her shirt and sucked in a deep breath of air as her lungs began to burn. It wasn't enough, and she hunched over to hack and cough violently. The smoke was too thick to breathe, much less fight in…

Wincing, her mind turned over possibilities, discarding most of them. She didn't have the material to craft anything on the fly, and there was no guarantee the monster inside the walls would stay in one place if it sensed her.

A solution popped into her brain suddenly, though she winced at the implications for her should the fight go poorly…

Fuck it. She needed to hurry.

Ruby closed her eyes, concentrated her aura upwards, toward her face. Years of training allowed her to mold her soul's essence into tangible form, creating a barrier, different from those she'd used most often to protect herself.

Those shields were meant to protect her body; keep it safe when other weapons or trauma would otherwise incapacitate her. She didn't want that – instead she molded it into a filter, permitting clean air through while blocking out the smoke and other debris.

Red light glinted in her lower peripheral vision. Her aura resembled the gauzy, scarlet veils of those Vacuoan dancers Sun had once shown her pictures of, fabric fluttering silently on a nonexistent breeze.

She smiled weakly at the thought.

At least she could breathe now. It was a start.

A scream pierced the air, high and hoarse and terrified. Ruby tensed, one leg already lifting up to carry her over the wall's fractured foundation, but the sound died as suddenly as it started, accompanied by a violent crash. A low growl of satisfaction took its place, so heavy in the air Ruby could _feel_ the immense size of the creature that created it.

She cursed bitterly and vaulted over the remains of the wall, marching into the ruins.

The village hadn't been very large, probably only housing a population of a few hundred. Most of the buildings were single-story, made from wood cut from the nearby forest and designed after the dominant Mistrallan style like most buildings in Anima.

Most of them were now in flames, crumbling into themselves or already pulverized by an incredible force. It was a harrowing backdrop, but it had nothing on the dark shape picking through the ruins of the village's inn. As she stepped into the large courtyard making up the center of the settlement, Ruby faced the shadow.

It was colossal, bulkier than any Nevermore or Goliath she'd ever encountered. It lumbered on four legs like a Berengal but towered over the buildings around it.

Its legs were built like tree-trunks; thick, rounded, and crushingly powerful. Protrusions at the ends only emphasized the comparison, looking like stubby, gnarled roots.

Its body was a mass of muscle and dense, bone-white plate armor, protecting the major areas of its body. Ruby's stomach sank at the sight – the only Grimm with armor so thick and well-developed were Ancients, those few individuals given centuries to grow and fortify their patience with experience and ever-increasing intelligence.

It had little armor on its back. Instead, huge gnarled growths added an additional meter of height, dragging with them lichens and moss that pulsed black with Grimm corruption. More of the same dangled below the plate covering its face, like a thick and unkempt beard.

It was a Marsh Colossus.

Best known to spawn in northwestern Anima, they seldom grew to this size. They lived stationary lives in swamps, bogs, and marshes, drawing nutrients and strength from their environment and only attacking when humans chose to settle near their territory. Their sedentary nature made them easy targets for huntsmen; every few years there would be a flurry of culling assignments tasking them to fill quotas of Marsh Colossi before any could develop to such immense proportions.

That one was here, hundreds of miles from its preferred habitat, and in such a developed state... It must have been either lucky or clever enough to avoid the extermination teams throughout the centuries. Or never had to worry in the first place – there was a fair chance it might be older than the kingdom itself.

Regardless, it was a foe to be feared.

As if sensing her trepidation, the Colossus lifted its immense head to look at her. The growths framing the bony slab of armor protecting its face looked like an eerie mix of antlers and tree branches. Its crimson eyes bored into her, mixed curiosity and cold hatred, but it made no sound.

Marsh Colossi were notoriously silent, only breaking it when they inevitably moved, or when they wished to announce themselves. Absent-minded passerby could easily find their messy demise by walking past a colossus without realizing it, mistaking them for the dark trees around them.

Behind her, a roof caved in with a loud crash, the fires too much for it.

Her mind evaluated her chances furiously.

There was nothing she could do to kill this Grimm in one blow. Crescent Rose was made for smaller Grimm; for reaping the lives of the fodder that thrived upon Remnant. She had options to inflict terrible harm upon anything, of course, but on her own they were limited. And that was no guarantee that it would kill something this big.

The beast began moving out of the ruins of the inn, absently brushing by the bar and smashing it into splinters. Her eyes darted around the square.

Corpses littered the ground, blackened after being consumed by the Colossus. They were known to draw nutrients from their victims just like they did with their environment. She'd never seen pictures of such a thing in school – she wasn't sure whether to be thankful or not – and hadn't recognized it for what it was.

Now she knew.

Driven through the cobblestones that formed the streets were dark, organic growths like those she'd seen earlier. They moved seemingly without direction, lacking a physical connection to the Grimm. Colossi were known to draw strength from the ground, similar to trees and fungi with their extensive root systems, but she had never read up on how, nor the extent of those abilities. She would have to be wary; if it had time to prepare the battlefield then nowhere would be safe for her.

How far did this thing's reach spread anyways?

Ruby lowered Crescent Rose, holding it perpendicular to her body as the Colossus stepped into the square, going eerily still. Its eyes moved ceaselessly, examining her, calculating, intelligent. Silver eyes returned the look with equal intensity, measuring her opponent.

She couldn't fell it with a single blow, but there were ways around that. She'd bled opponents before. Her reserves were low, but she was confident in her abilities to outmaneuver the hulking beast.

She made the first move. The world blurred around her, tinting scarlet as she swung Crescent Rose at the thick forelegs of the Grimm - _Right, Left_ \- scoring two deep wounds as she came out of her semblance on its side.

_Slash up!_

The Colossus rumbled, like an aging tree amidst a windstorm, and swatted at her with alarming speed. Ruby ducked the blow, sweeping Crescent Rose above her and drawing blood once more. The rumble grew, more like an avalanche in its intensity now. She was forced far away as it slammed its forelegs into the ground, creating a shockwave.

The force of the blow shook the earth beneath her, two new craters forming where it stove through the cobblestone.

Ruby eyed her work and blanched.

Save for three miniscule scars to mark their locations, the wounds had already healed over. It had only been seconds! No Grimm she had ever seen or heard of had regenerative capabilities of that level.

_Back!_

Ruby leapt away from the next strike and tapped into her speed, the world blurring around her as she ducked and wove around each and every attack the Colossus made. Crescent Rose sang its mournful dirge as it bit into limbs and cut between chinks and cracks in the otherwise impenetrable armor.

It became a dance. The beast would attack, she would counter or leap out of the way and score yet another superficial wound. It would heal, and they would repeat the process. All the while, crimson eyes bore into her with contempt and fury.

_Roll! Slash up! Right! Jab! Right! Slash across the body!_

Her instincts guided her body while her mind worked; she needed a better plan if she would win… Ruby could feel her aura slowly draining away as she channeled it into her veil, her body, and her semblance. Eventually she would make a mistake and start taking damage and her reserves would truly start to evaporate. The Colossus, on the other hand, barely seemed winded.

Ruby rolled between its stomach, working the bolt on Crescent Rose as the blade came up against its leg.

_Crack!_

Her weapon bit deep into flesh, making the monster growl furiously, but then it stuck.

'_Shit!' _

She flared her aura, using the burst of strength to rip Crescent out of the bone in a spray of thick, scarlet blood and flying Grimmflesh. Regaining her balance, she immediately sprinted away before it could take advantage of her proximity (she didn't want to get stomped on!), but the lost time was more than enough for the beast to twist itself around to face her.

The beast rumbled and, abandoning its stationary tactics, charged, utterly unaffected by the small hurts she'd inflicted with her pitiful assault. Ruby made to duck to the side of the beast before it trampled her but was halted by a familiar presence suddenly snared legs, growing tighter by the second. Her eyes widened in fear.

'_Doubt-shit!'_ Crescent Rose dipped down to her ankles, slashing through the tendrils.

The earth around her erupted in a sea of flying stone and vegetation as even more of the growths punched their way through the streets. Another slash and her other leg was freed, and she danced between the writhing tendrils as they reached for her limbs with poisonous intent.

The ground shook violently beneath her, the Colossus an unstoppable force glaring hate through its furious crimson eyes.

_Don't just stand there!_ _Get away! UP!_

Desperate, Ruby drove Crescent Rose's barrel into the ground and pulled the trigger, pouring her aura into her body.

_Crack!_

The recoil, combined with her semblance, launched her away in a cloud of rose petals, high into the air.

It wasn't enough.

A huge foreleg, black as a nightmare and plated with armor denser than stone reached up and swatted her out of the sky, sending her tumbling off to the side as the behemoth trampled over her previous position. Ruby's entire world tilted for a moment, her aura flaring into visibility around her as she crashed through a wall.

She cried out on impact, pain quick to follow her landing. Her back slammed into something hard – several other heavy weights toppling onto her immediately after. The scarlet barrier she relied upon for survival flickered violently around her, her reserves of aura depleting itself to repair her damaged flesh and bones.

The house she'd landed in shook as the Colossus slammed into the ravine wall with a jaw-rattling _boom._ Several crashes followed; the building she'd stood in front of crumbling around the beast.

For a breathless moment, Ruby lay there, bones aching, and realized something chilling.

She had to get away.

As far away as possible.

It was a painful epiphany, but nonetheless true. Her soul was even now sapping the vitality from her body in a desperate effort to replace the losses from a single blow. In just a few minutes she'd be even more fatigued - and lacking her single greatest defense entirely should she take another hit.

If it didn't simply kill her outright.

She had to get away and warn the rest of Mistral; put together a hunting party to track the Ancient down and kill it before it could move on and inflict itself on another helpless settlement.

Ruby doubted she could hurt it in her current state, even if she tried again and again. With more of its cards shown, it had too much control over the battlefield and it was too canny to fall for the same tricks more than once. It had nearly killed her already, to say nothing about whatever other abilities it likely had sequestered away.

_Get up._

Rolling over, Ruby drove her fist into the floorboards, snarling as her knuckles bruised. Every ounce of her frustration went into the punch, the pain her penance for having to abandon her mission and the vengeance Horikiri deserved.

For now.

She would return.

Resolved, Ruby pushed herself to her feet, leaning heavily on Crescent Rose. Dozens of heavy ceramic tiles tumbled off of her, the remains of the roof caved in above her. She winced as even more pain made itself known. Her legs hurt like they'd been flayed…

Wait. Her face paled and she knelt down to examine the places where she'd been held down by the vines. Her dark stockings were sticky with the resinous substance she'd seen coating the vines. She roughly tore away the material and cringed at the sight of her ankles. Where the substance had seeped through the thin material, the skin was red and inflamed, in some places blackened and dead.

She hadn't even noticed it from earlier – too consumed by her mission to separate the pain from the expected fatigue and strain of hiking for so long.

Careful to avoid touching any more of the stuff, Ruby pressed her fingers against her leg and found that the skin surrounding the substance was numb. It was only the worst affected areas where the pain was beginning to bloom.

That settled it. She needed to get away. It was already enough without adding poison on top of it all.

_Chirp!_

What? Ruby perked up.

_Chirp!_

She knew that sound.

_Chirp!_

The building on the other side of the courtyard, where the Colossus had ended its bull-rush toward her, disappeared in a flurry of smoke and embers as the creature swiped away what little remained. Its massive head tilted upwards to regard the airship that now filled the air with its call with hateful, wary eyes.

Ruby felt her heart lift on seeing the Bullhead. She could escape!

Then three shapes dropped from the craft, and that feeling vanished, replaced by bewilderment and dread. What were they _doing?_ They didn't seriously think they could fight it, did they?

Glass and splintered wood were shifted aside as the Colossus stepped back into the courtyard. It stilled then, statuesque and unnatural as darkness wisped off of its body.

Cringing as the action pulled at her inflamed skin, Ruby jogged toward the newcomers, taking in their appearance.

One, smaller than the rest and armed with a short sword and pistol, was obviously a Mistrallan pilot. She'd become well-acquainted with the distinct cut of their uniforms over the years she'd lived there. His aviator's cap obscured his features from her, but she noted that he had a particularly sharp chin and his lips were pulled into a nervous frown.

His companions were huntsmen. One medium-height and stocky, the other built like a warrior of old, tall and broad-shouldered, with shining plate armor layered all over his upper body to complete the image.

She jogged over and Stocky offered his hand to her in greeting, eyes never leaving the Colossus. "Bai Long."

Still bewildered, Ruby took the offered hand anyways, giving it a firm shake. His companion gave her a little wave. "Reed Bryce, we're here from one of the villages up north. Saw the smoke after finishing up our mission and thought we should check it out."

"Ruby Rose," she answered tersely, nodding to the pilot. The man kept his silence. He was pale, like he might be sick at any moment. Who invited him?

"What's the scoop on the Grimm?" Reed asked, smile undeterred by the menacing gaze aimed at them.

The Colossus was content to wait for them, apparently. Something in its bearing radiated smug contempt. Almost laziness, if one ignored the burning hate in its eyes. Complete certainty that it could – and would – kill them all in time, certainly. Ruby suspected that if they attempted to flee, they would be stopped anyways. Her allies would, at least.

Fine.

If these huntsmen wanted to put up a fight, then she would help them. If the Colossus wasn't going to stop them from putting together a battle plan, all the better for their chances.

Just _fine._

She took a breath, centering herself.

"It's a Marsh Colossus. Ancient. It's got a network of vines underground that it can use to grab you," Ruby listed quickly, anything she could think of. "It's big and dangerous, and it regenerates faster than I can hurt it. I was thinking about running before you showed up."

Intending to run, but they didn't need to know that.

Bai nodded. "We saw as much," he said. He indicated a tiny metal contraption resting on Reed's shoulder. A video probe. Many huntsmen used them to document their assignments. She hadn't found a need to bring hers along this time – a mistake in hindsight. "You are okay after that hit?"

"Not really, but I can fight."

"Excellent." Bai drew a pair of long, curved daggers from his belt, pressing the hilts together to form a single continuous piece. With a series of metallic clicks, the piece became a bow, which he efficiently began to string. "I am a bowman, obviously. My semblance allows me to control air currents to enhance my shots, among other things."

"I can charge up my strength if I get some time to concentrate," Reed added, a heavy spear now held comfortably in his massive hands.

Ruby nodded, eyes flicking to the pilot briefly and receiving a hasty shake of the head in reply. He would have an aura, but no semblance, as was common with most pilots. Aura was too useful to go without unlocking when it could save a life in a crash, but semblances were rare to develop for anyone save huntsmen.

Apparently, their pilot ally wasn't one of those precious few. Shame.

Ruby eyed Reed's spear, mentally sifting through what strategies they could use. "How strong is your weapon, Reed?"

"Strong enough."

"Strong enough to pierce an Ancient's armor?"

The huge man's grin was as wide as it was vicious. "I am confident in Clarent's abilities."

At literally any other time Ruby would have been interested in knowing more about the duo's weapons, but not now. "Good. My semblance is speed. You charge yourself up as much as you can while we draw its attention. Pilot - keep those vines from touching Reed. Your sword should cut through them pretty easily if you use your aura," she explained, all business. "Bai, you and I are going to distract it. When Reed's ready I'll launch him at the Colossus. If you can give us a boost with your semblance, do it. With any luck it'll die in one blow. Any questions?"

Bai shook his head in the negative, while Reed just gave her a thumbs up, sinking to a knee and closing his eyes in intense concentration. His drone lifted itself away from his shoulder, autonomous and ready to record the fight. The pilot shuddered but nodded to her, drawing his sword.

Crescent Rose shifted into rifle mode with a flick of her finger. She'd need all the speed and maneuverability she could get this fight. "Let's move, huntsmen!"

Ruby felt a warm flare of aura behind her as Reed began charging his semblance. The Ancient seemed to sense their intention, as below them the ground erupted with dozens of thrashing vines, each seeking to incapacitate or cripple.

Praying for the pilot to pull his own weight and keep the spearman safe, she fixed her attention on the Grimm. Crescent Rose dipped forward, barrel pointed at the ground in front of her.

_Crack!_

She launched into the air, taking potshots at the Colossus as she began to circle around the edges of the courtyard. Every time she lost momentum she'd land on some crumbling piece of architecture, careful to pick spaces that would hold her weight and to never stand still long enough for the Grimm to catch her out.

Opposite her, Bai peppered the beast with shining arrows. Forgoing a quiver, the bowman pulled each arrow from the air itself. Each shot flew with an eerie shriek unlike anything Ruby had heard before; a mix of wind in the mountains on a freezing winter's day and nails on a chalkboard.

While he didn't have the same luxury of speed or recoil to boost his leaping that Ruby did, Bai made up for it by creating translucent platforms of solid air, gracefully leaping from one to the next when he couldn't find a safe foothold to land on.

Together they harried the Colossus, each shot blowing holes in its hide or chipping away at its formidable armor as it swatted at them like tiny flies. Houses were reduced to flinders, smoke and embers amidst the action as the Grimm rampaged through the village, organized streets of cobblestone quickly turning into a churned-up mess as the beast's heavy footfalls tore them apart.

For all their efforts, they failed to inflict any real damage on the Colossus – it regenerated too quickly for that - but they were persistent enough to keep it distracted and agitated. Like any Ancient it was intelligent, far superior to its mindless lesser brethren, but it was still limited. Consumed by the chase, it was seemingly content to leave Reed relatively unmolested while it pursued the more interesting prey.

Not to say it didn't try to eliminate the prone huntsman. Vines constantly erupted from the ground to interrupt Reed's concentration. The pilot was quick to dispatch them though, his aura-empowered strength more than enough to cut through the tough fibers.

It wasn't all smooth sailing, however.

They had to buy as much time as possible, but it was obvious that they were running out. With the destruction of so many buildings, Ruby and Bai were left with fewer and fewer places to land safely.

She worked furiously at the bolt of Crescent Rose to keep herself airborne, but with every second Ruby knew she would soon have to touch the ground and risk even more of those tendrils leaping out to restrain her.

Without warning, her luck ran out and a piece of masonry collapsed beneath her.

'_Shit!'_

Heart leaping in her throat, she prepared to hit the ground running when she was saved. A transparent platform appeared beneath her suddenly, glowing with the telltale sky-blue of Bai's aura.

Ruby aimed a mental _'thank you'_ at the huntsman, staggering a little at the unexpected landing but quickly finding her balance. She leapt away before she was crushed beneath another swing of the beast's colossal arms.

Still more seconds passed; they were falling behind.

Blows edged ever closer as their reflexes grew less sharp and fatigue conspired to make their movements more and more sluggish. The underground tendrils became more of a serious threat as safe landing spots grew scarce. Too much more of this and Ruby knew she'd have to dip back into her aura reserves…

Ruby could see Bai tiring as well. He used his semblance ever more sparingly, stretching his aura to last as long as possible. Neither of them were built or trained for long sprints like this.

They just needed a little more time…

The bowman was the first to make a crucial mistake, reacting just a second too slow to leap over a sweeping forelimb. His arms flew up in front of his face, forming a misty barrier between the behemoth and himself. While it did absorb most of the momentum, the blow still sent Bai reeling.

Ruby cursed internally, Crescent Rose's bark accompanying her leap toward the huntsman. She hit the transformation switch, swapping out for its scythe form and swinging downwards.

The Colossus reeled back in pain as a massive gash appeared along the length of its foreleg. She somersaulted on landing, twisting her body to come up sweeping her scythe in a low arc, parallel to the ground. The tendrils that had instantly risen to encircle her limbs fell away, thrashing on the ground.

She ran over and cut Bai free of the bonds that had already pulled and anchored him to the ground. Her worried eyes lingered on the resin covering his arms and legs as she pulled the bowman to his feet, before she grabbed him around the waist and blurred them away with her semblance a split second before they were crushed by the Colossus.

She stopped at a relatively safe spot on the other side of the courtyard, several houses down from their allies on top of a relatively-intact roof. Her legs ached horribly, taxed by the sprint and her passenger.

The Colossus slowly began to turn itself back around. Throughout the battle it had proven to be deceptively fast, but it took its time when repositioning itself.

"Rose! Bai! I am ready!"

The two huntsmen looked at Reed, whose aura was flaring brightly. It was gold, a little more on the tinny side than yellow, but bright and shining amidst the gloom and haze.

So similar to –

Not fucking now.

Ruby turned to Bai. "Get it to face us. This is either going to work, or it isn't."

He nodded, grasping her wrist before she leapt down. He had very subdued blue eyes, Ruby noted. "Thank you for my life."

Her lips quirked upwards wearily, feeling the bite the rescue had taken out of her aura reserves. "Anytime."

Reed had levelled Clarent at the Colossus by the time Ruby joined him, the spear surrounded by the same nimbus of light as its wielder. On the other side of the courtyard, Bai was already shooting away at the Colossus, keeping its attention fixated on himself while the two prepared to execute their gambit.

The pilot was still busy hacking away at the vines. He was doing a pretty good job. The ground was littered with dead vegetation. Ruby levelled a serious look at the spear-wielder. "You're ready for this?"

He shot her a wide, almost-manic grin. "I was born ready, Rose!"

"Let's do it then," Ruby said, giving a tiny smile of her own. Her blood, already pumping from exertion and excess adrenaline, seemed to burn hotter near so much concentrated energy. Aura practically bled off the man. She took a step back, setting her feet and pooling her own aura into her body, readying it for the burst of speed.

Then she _moved._ The world blurred around her as she wrapped her arms around the huntsman and drew him into her bubble of pure velocity. Ruby's aura briefly strained after the hit from earlier, her legs trying to heal, the day's exertion and now carrying this huge man, but it was a short journey.

The scarlet tint around her eyesight, touched blue by Bai's semblance aiding her, vanished and she let go of her passenger, landing laterally on the Ancient's shoulder and flipping away before the true attack could land.

She landed in a crouch as Reed connected with a roar and a sickening crack, rose petals sweeping past her. The Colossus' impenetrable armor splintered around Clarent, the spearhead driving deep into its chest, seeking vital organs. Skidding backwards from the force, the Grimm carved a new divot in the cobblestone, only slowing to a halt against the remains of a decorative fountain.

The monster shrieked.

Powerfully, loudly. Excruciatingly for her poor eardrums, which threatened to burst despite her aura's best efforts.

It was a sound unlike any she'd ever experienced, and one soon joined by the comparably faint sound of crunching bone and metal. Ruby dropped to her knees, clutching her ears as they cried out in protest of the needles driving deep within. One second. Two.

The roar intensified, pressing against her skin as a tangible presence. Ruby grit her teeth, enduring the onslaught just like the others.

Five. Six. _Seven_…

Just. Stop. _Screaming_…

Ten.

Eleven…

…

Eventually, it did, to her sweet relief.

Letting her hands fall from her ears (and ignoring the slow trickle of blood and tingle of her aura as it went to work repairing her eardrums), Ruby looked up to see the result of their strategy.

Her heart dropped.

Reed was dead, his skin already blackening in the Colossus' fist. His armor had crumpled like tin foil in the beast's horrifically strong grip. Bone protruded from his ruined flesh in several places - where they hadn't been pulped together already.

Clarent remained deep inside the Grimm's body, the spear protruding from its chest amidst a gruesome morass of shattered armor and charred Grimmflesh. The wound bled a steady stream of scarlet tar, the Colossus twitching and shuddering randomly, obviously enduring incredible pain.

From a great distance, Ruby heard Bai scream in horror and grief, and belatedly realized that her gambit had failed.

They'd broken the Ancient's primary defense – that wouldn't be restored fully for centuries to come. But its flesh was already sealing closed around Clarent, leaving the weapon permanently impaled inside.

It was vulnerable now, and more hurt than it had probably ever been in its life, but it still wasn't enough.

The Colossus flung the desiccated corpse in its grip to the ground, turning to face the rest of them. Its eyes burned like hellfire, promising slow death for they who dared to truly wound it.

The earth shook with the force of its furious, cold snarl.

Ruby began to slowly back away, her heartrate beginning to hasten once more into panic mode. They were out of options now. The Ancient was done toying with its prey. They needed to run.

"Bai!" she shouted over her shoulder, voice rising with her emotions, "Pilot! We need to run, now!"

The Colossus thundered, truly enraged now, and moved, building the momentum to trample her once again. Ruby twisted and ran, chilled by the realization that she had very little aura left to fuel her semblance.

The earth trembled behind her.

The world started to bleed scarlet and she jumped forward just a few feet, but then the world shook around her, and she staggered out of her semblance prematurely.

Ruby turned to see Bai, aura flaring white-blue, stop the Ancient in its tracks and hold it behind a massive, concentrated barrier. Not even seconds after its creation, jagged fractures had begun webbing across the polished face, the huntsman straining to his limit against the rampaging beast.

"Go!"

_Thu-ump._

Ruby blanched. "What? _No! _I am _not _leaving you!"

"I will not leave my brother behind!" Bai snarled, a vein throbbing in his temple. "The drone! Take it, the pilot, and get as far away from here as possible! Our ship will reach the city before you. Find it when it returns and get back to Mistral…! Tell them what has happened, form a team… Rgh…! Come back to _kill_ this abomination!"

Her mouth worked soundlessly around a denial, but Bai was set. "We have lost! Make sure our sacrifice is not in vain, Ruby Rose!"

Something within her quailed, but after a moment's indecision she accepted the huntsman's choice. It was the same conclusion she'd come to earlier, just more painful and accompanied by even more death.

They had lost.

She could still make it worth something, though.

_She would_.

Ruby blurred forward, thankful for the lack of vines to trip her up. Sidestepping the Ancient, she cringed as the barrier shattered with a sound like breaking pottery. The beast snarled, its forelegs crashed into the ground, rattling the village, and Bai was forced to roll away to avoid being splattered beneath the rampaging Grimm.

The huntsman brought his bow back up instantly and began shooting away at the vulnerable flesh they'd exposed. It was soft and weak after so much time spent covered by the impenetrable armor, but the wounds still closed faster than Bai could reopen them.

They were painful, vicious thorns to the Colossus though, and kept its bloody gaze fixated on the bowman.

She slid a halt next to Reed, gagging on the foul odor rising from his body when it reached past her veil. The drone had returned itself to where she'd seen it earlier, attached to his shoulder pad and only slightly worse for wear amidst the chaos. Ruby pocketed it, hoping that the information it had recorded would be enough to give the next party a chance.

Touching his forehead briefly in the most rudimentary blessing she knew of, Ruby stood and blurred toward the pilot. He'd drawn his pistol and was shooting at the Ancient while it was preoccupied chasing down Bai.

He lowered the weapon as she stopped near him. "We are to go?" the man asked shakily.

Ruby nodded, steeling herself for her next action.

The pilot looked back at Bai. "I do not like abandoning him; he would not have done the same to me," he admitted.

"I don't either," Ruby agreed curtly. She wrapped an arm around the man's waist. "But we need to get away – as far as possible – and get word out to Mistral. I'll use my semblance for as long as I can, but after that we're running."

He nodded weakly, and wrapped an arm around her shoulder, giving her a better hold to work with.

He was lightweight compared to Reed. It was a small blessing. Ruby projected a heartfelt mental apology to the two huntsmen before pouring what little aura she had remaining into her semblance.

One foot in front of the other. Faster. The world took on a scarlet tinge, blurring for more than one reason as moisture spilled down her cheeks.

They accelerated. Past the ruined buildings, through the gaping hole in the village's wall, across the ruined fields and out into the forest.

'_I'm so sorry…'_

As far away as she could take them.

Keep moving.

Her body protested, but she would have none of it while they were so close.

Keep. Moving. Forward.

They rested a minute when Ruby's aura finally sputtered out, several miles away from Horikiri. Her chest heaved, unable to draw enough breath. Her face glistened with sweat in the last light of the day, streaked with grime and tears and filth. She couldn't feel her legs, save for the faintest of twinges where she knew the poison was working its way into her flesh.

Despite the reprieve, all she could taste was ash.

They started moving again when they heard the crash, faint and muted by distance.

It was succeeded by a piercing cry of victory. She forced herself to ignore the painful ache in her chest as she ordered the pilot to his feet, swiping at her eyes. Ruby's legs burned as she set a punishing pace for them both, but it was nothing to what she felt whenever she pictured the death she'd borne witness to that day.

They pressed onwards, no matter the pain. They had a job to complete.

Just keep moving forward.

* * *

**Fun, huh? For the record, though I have made some heavy alterations in my version, the Marsh Colossus was based on Muunkie's 'Grimm Behemoth' drawing on Deviantart. Mine happens to have much more armor and four legs, but their drawing was definitely the inspiration behind it. **

**Please leave a review! I'd love to hear what the responses were to this chapter; most of them going forward are going to be around this length - the first chapter was meant more to ease readers into the narrative. Things speed up from here. **


	3. Eris

**_Sorry for the delay, college decided to be a bit of a pain in the ass these last few weeks. Hope you all enjoy, please read and leave a review! _**

**_Disclaimer: I don't own RWBY, I'm just playing in the sandbox._**

* * *

_Her Uncle leaned on Harbinger, the weapon transformed into its scythe configuration. The snath didn't even bend underneath his not-inconsiderable mass, such was the skill that had gone into its construction. "So, kiddo. You've got your pig-sticker. And you've got me out here to teach you how to use it." His head tilted to the side. "Do you even know what you're asking?"_

"_I know, Uncle Qrow," Ruby would not be deterred. _

_She had the will, she had the means, and now she had the weapon to match. She would have her teacher if she had to beg on her knees for it._

_She twirled her newly-completed scythe – still no name, she hadn't though of something _fitting_ yet – and waited, hoping he would see something in her that would ease the thoughtful furrow of his brow. _

"_Heh…" he took a swig from his flask. _

_Ruby's nose wrinkled in disgust as the stench prickled her senses. _

"_You've got the moxie for it too, I guess," he chuckled, finally, his hard red eyes observing her silver, reading her. "But that ain't the question I'm asking. _Why_ do you want to be a huntress, Ruby? Honest answer here, this isn't a fairy tale or some kid's story – why should I teach you how to wield that thing?"_

…

_I want to help people – I've always wanted to help people. _

_To be the hero in the stories, slaying monsters, saving the day and bringing hope to a world where hope is fragile. _

_I want to be like my mom was, before she died. Or my dad was, before depression started eating him alive. Or even my uncle, before he started hiding from his demons in the depths of a bottle. _

_Being a hero… being the best _person_ I can be - that is the standard I've tried to live by throughout my entire career from start to finish._

_Unfortunately, slaying monsters is the easy part. I've never been very good at helping myself._

X_0_X

"Are you waiting for the ball to grow legs and move itself, Yatsu?" Velvet Scarlatina playfully called from her seat.

The imposing huntsman rolled his eyes at her, still circling the pool table to find the perfect vantage point for his next move. He'd done the same thing the last time it had been his turn, and the one before that – Velvet figured that if he'd been the one to break, he'd have considered his options for several minutes there as well.

Coco nudged her from the side, smirking overly wide when Velvet glanced over. Velvet sniffed. Bitch. So what if she'd drawn the short straw when it came to teams? Fox didn't waste his time pretending to know what he was doing, sure, but he couldn't predict shots for shit…

Finally finding his angle, Yatsuhashi leaned over the table, pool cue in hand. Velvet's lips quirked up at the sight; the man was so big, his shadow covered nearly half the table.

"Don't you dare start chalking up again, Yatsu," Coco snarked.

"Impatience is no virtue, Coco." The giant of a man didn't even seem phased by her taunt.

He drew back, and the satisfying clack of colliding stone filled the air. "He's going to sink one of ours, Vel," Coco observed.

"Shut up! He is not!"

Seconds later and one enemy three-ball pocketed, Coco grinned smugly and sashayed over to claim her spot around the table. Long ears falling flat over her head, Velvet commiserated with her teammate as he plunked down into Coco's chair.

"It's alright, Yatsu. You know she just makes us play 'cause she knows we all suck at this game." She patted him on his heavy shoulder.

Yatsuhashi merely pouted.

Fox grinned widely at the two from his table, sketching away in his journal. Probably working on his shading again… He tried so hard to be the team's cartographer-slash-chronicler, but if Velvet was being brutally honest, he wasn't very good at it.

Well, maybe even that was too nice. Fox just kind of sucked at drawing, not that anyone was terribly surprised. Nobody else wanted to do it though, and he lost that bet with Yatsuhashi, who got tricked into it by Coco, so it was his job now.

What was it that Oobleck had called them when they showed up for class with half-baked sketches for their homework? 'Functionally cooperative?'

Didn't matter. Fox could smirk all he wanted. She was still the best at rhythm games by far, not this stupid bar game.

As Coco leaned over to take her shot, mouth thinning into a tight line, Velvet perked up as the door to the door loudly slid open – a stone-faced Mistral official marched in, barely pausing to shut it behind him.

That usually wasn't good – this bar was well-known for the huntsmen that frequented it. If Mistral was bothering them this late at night, it meant something important was afoot. Her chocolate colored eyes flickered over the various faces throughout the room. Huntsmen, huntresses, some of them here in teams and some alone.

Perhaps two dozen wary eyes fixed on the official, measuring, anticipating what trouble he'd bring to their lives today.

Coco plopped herself down in her seat as her streak came to an end, handing off her cue to Velvet. Her interest waned quickly as she returned her attention to the table, now several solids short of where it had been a minute ago.

Damnit Coco…

At the bar, the owner was in deep, rapid conversation with the official. She tuned them out. They'd probably make an announcement to the bar in a second.

Velvet drew her arm back, tongue stuck out the corner of her mouth. She'd been left an easy opening this time – she could make this, sure thing.

"_You said Ruby Rose?"_

Mid-thrust, Velvet jerked. The cue ball clacked against the bumper, sailed off into the wrong direction and soundly pocketed the eight ball. She blinked, momentarily astounded by her bad luck - She wasn't _that_ bad at pool! – before whirling around to pay _much_ closer attention to the exchange.

The barkeep was pale – well, paler than usual. Mistrallans didn't usually have much color to begin with this far north… His hands wrung together, face a scrunched up, mess of worry. All around, the other huntsmen watched with carefully guarded interest.

They all knew Ruby. Who didn't? The little reaper had a reputation, after all. Everything she was involved in either made for great stories, or great trouble. That was also to say nothing of the fact that she was probably on friendly terms with almost everyone in the room.

Another moment passed before the official finally cottoned onto the attention he'd drawn. He shot a questioning look at the barkeep. Getting a nod in return, the man stepped forward.

"Huntsmen, you know that the Mistral Council prefers not to interrupt your valued time between assignments," he began, voice raised despite the entire room falling silent to listen. "Unfortunately, a situation has arisen that necessitates our action."

The man pulled a sleek-looking scroll from his pocket and handed it to the barkeep. "Hours ago, one of our airships returned from an assignment down south without the two huntsmen it was supposed to be retrieving, as well as one of its pilots. The remaining operator has provided us with footage of why this is."

A large holographic screen appeared off to the side – specifically installed for these sorts of situations. Velvet glanced at her team apprehensively while they waited for the image to buffer.

Yatsuhashi and Fox wore identical grim expressions, leaning forward in their seats with hands held stiffly in their laps. Fox's fingers twitched erratically as he restrained his need to move and be active. Coco merely leaned back in her own chair, arms crossed behind her head and features perfectly blank.

Velvet squirmed. How was Ruby caught up in this? She'd heard her friend had been taking smaller missions lately. Nothing that should lead to the Council's intervention.

The image finally loaded, the feed grainy and indistinct.

Whatever camera it came from was obviously loaded onto some sort of drone – Fox usually carried theirs around when they chose to use it. The perspective constantly vibrated and shifted as the wind picked up and changed directions.

A village in flames. Smoke rising from the ruins, masking most of the scene. What little was visible was hellish – houses crumbling under their own weight as support beams charred through and dissolved, broken stone toppling over, and the aside from the flames devouring everything in reach, a dreadful stillness unnatural for the relatively large settlement.

But then a tiny figure in a distinctive scarlet, hooded cloak stepped into the large open courtyard, carrying a scythe longer than they were tall.

Velvet felt her lips press into a line, fingers clenching the arms of her chair. Ruby.

Something else entered the frame – previously covered by the smoke. She had to restrain herself from blanching. Grimm that large were extremely rare, and often frighteningly powerful. The picture was so bad she couldn't quite tell what its species was, but the thick armor distributed around its body was more than enough to confirm her fears.

An Ancient had surfaced in Mistral.

And Ruby was going to fight it. Had fought it already.

Velvet hoped her friend had better sense than that and ran.

The bar was mostly silent, save for the hushed whispers making the rounds as huntsmen moved toward their teams. Already, there were plans circulating. How to kill such a powerful specimen of Grimm, what sort of weapons would be needed. Rumors as well, abilities, its species, strengths, weaknesses. All things huntsmen would want to know.

In the video, the drone hovered, getting as clear an image as it could as Ruby faced off with the beast.

'_Oh dust, this has to have happened hours ago. Is she alright? Is she even _alive_?'_

Ruby suddenly vanished, becoming nothing but a faint scarlet blur. Her scythe slashed at the Ancient, once, twice - three times to stave off an angry swipe, and then the huntress was backing away to avoid further retaliation, then turning into a whirlwind of blurring steel and rose petals. Velvet grimaced at the sight. The beast was barely fazed by the assault… Ruby was so tiny compared to it…

Velvet's heart skipped a beat as Ruby abruptly froze in place, her legs anchored to the ground by something shadowy – what the hell were they? Some sort of subterranean Grimm? She freed herself swiftly, but Ruby had nowhere to escape as the Ancient bore down on her.

"No…" she whispered as Ruby's hasty escape attempt was brutally punished. The camera suddenly panned away toward an approaching airship, just too slow to hide the distinctive flare-and-flicker of scarlet light around Ruby as she crashed into a crumbling house.

"The video was taken by one Bai Long," the official spoke up once the video ended. "He had time to transmit the feed to the airship before he and his partner, Reed Bryce joined the huntress in the fight. Though it has yet to be officially confirmed, it is highly likely that she is indeed Ruby Rose – her last mission puts her near the area, and the appearances match up."

"The Council believes that thing is Ancient?" A dark-haired huntsman spoke up from a booth on the other side of the room. His face was inscrutable.

"Correct. The Huntsmen's Guild has already issued a Class Eight Search and Destroy mission, if Miss Rose and Misters Long and Bryce have not already eliminated it."

"That thing isn't going down without planning and firepower." Another huntress leaned forward. "I know Bai and Reed – they're strong, but even with the Reaper's help they're not going to kill an Ancient in one go."

"How many teams is the mission asking for? Or is it solo?"

"Fuck the mission board, anyone who thinks that one team is going to be enough to kill that thing is suicidal."

Velvet tuned out from the conversation, pulse speeding up to match her rising anxiety. The game was forgotten behind her as she rose to her feet and gracefully wove her way between several tables.

With huntsmen now looking at their scrolls for more details or huddling together to discuss the assignment, the Mistrallan official now sat down tiredly at the bar to nurse a glass of gin. Velvet cleared her throat anxiously to catch his attention.

Two sets of eyes, one set and tired, the other flecked by worry, locked onto her. Deep breaths Velvet, these people aren't going to yell or laugh at you…

"Yes, Miss…?"

"Scarlatina," she answered, shelving her worry. She was a huntress, damnit. "I was wondering if there was anything more you could tell me about Ruby?"

"Nothing much to say, unfortunately," the official admitted. "We have only that footage to go off of. Huntsman Long took his drone with him into the fight, and our airships have limited range, to say nothing of the smoke covering up everything."

The barkeep cut in, staring at Velvet. "You don't think she was seriously hurt, do you?"

She belatedly realized that showing so much visible worry probably didn't give the man much hope for Ruby's wellbeing – she'd know better than he after all, being a huntress herself.

"I… no, I don't think so," she said, forcing her hands to relax. "But I can't say for sure. That was a pretty bad hit and seeing her aura flicker like that isn't good. If Ruby got away fast enough she'll be fine."

The man looked troubled.

Curiosity flared. Velvet had to ask. "Do you know her?"

"Ruby?" He seemed surprised. "'Course. I swear, that girl is the only one who remembers my name sometimes. Probably helps that she never orders anything that'll make her forget it, but still." The man scowled. "'Sides, I served her uncle more times than I can count. Heard stories about her for years from him, before he dropped off the map."

"Oh." Velvet suddenly realized she had no idea what the man's name was, despite frequenting the bar for several years. "I… uh. I'm sorry to hear that, sir."

Was she supposed to ask his name now? She could write it down for the future – but didn't that defeat the purpose of remembering it anyways, since she'd just be chea- no! She had a reason for coming over here!

"Right," Velvet shook off the mental tangent and met the official's grey eyes. "Is there anything being done to retrieve Ruby and the others, then?"

He nodded. "Search and Rescue mission. Class five, given how dangerous the Grimm is supposed to be. Almost got ranked higher, but you wouldn't be asked to fight anyways, just get them out."

His lips pursed. "To be honest, the Council doesn't have high hopes for their survival unless they got away as quickly as possible. The mission is unclaimed though – there's already an airship getting itself ready for departure in a few hours."

Velvet nodded rapidly. "I – We, I need to go talk to my team about it real fast, just wait here."

"Don't worry about it, Vel."

She twisted on the spot. Coco's shades had slid down her nose, warm brown eyes crinkling sympathetically at her as the fashionista cocked her hip just slightly to the side. "You don't really think we'd pass this up when it means so much to you, hm?"

She flushed. "I, well, thought you'd be excited to go on a mission to kill an Ancient, you know?" the faunus stammered.

Coco sniffed. "There'll always be Ancients. Friends are a bit more important than that – and Ruby's a friend, even if she hates going clothes shopping with us."

"I'll go get our stuff ready!" Fox called over, picking up on their intent. He was already jogging toward the door.

Yatsuhashi merely nodded to her from his seat, sending her an encouraging thumbs-up as an afterthought.

Velvet could feel her heart warm, filled to bursting with her gratitude. "Thanks Coco," she said in a tiny voice. Her partner smirked.

"Anytime, Vel. But. You owe me another game of pool – a _full_ game, so I can kick your cute little ass as thoroughly as it deserves."

"I don't suck that badly at pool!"

"I guess you'll just have to proooove it~"

It was several minutes before their squabbling could come to an end – Coco efficiently moving through the mission sign-up provided by the official while deftly countering each and every protest Velvet made. When they finished, Yatsuhashi joining them in the process, they left quickly, Velvet's smile just a bit wider around the edges after the barkeep waived their tab for the night.

It didn't do much to assuage her nervousness and worry – and by the pallor he carried, the man felt the same – but it was a kindness.

Her eyes closed briefly as she pulled on her huntress' garb, willing her thoughts to reach her friend.

'_We're coming, Ruby.'_

X_0_X

_The village burned below her CORPSES littering the ground, battered, lifeless, bloody puddles EVERYWHERE. Fire, always hungry, raced through the crippled settlement, devouring everything in reach as creatures of GRIMM roamed freely through the village. _

_A twist of the hand. A finger on the trigger, pulling, letting gravity pull her to the ground as her now-bisected mount tumbled through the air. She landed on her feet, crushed stone rattling across the cobblestone, scythe held tightly in her hands._

_EYES. Burning red eyes, all trained on her. The Grimm surged forward, Crescent Rose slashing slicing dicing Grimmflesh like it was nothing, THEY were nothing and deserved her fury for what they'd DONE here. With every kill she felt the fire burn brighter within her. She would AVENGE them all reap the soulless beings who had KILLED all these people and introduce HER own justice to this eternal conflict._

_The village burned. It _shook_. A new foe appeared. Fire licked her as the Berengal threw her away. _Eating_ at her. _Her legs_. She burned. Something was WRONG. Why _did it hurt so mu_ch…? This ha_dn't happened bef_ore_ _the world was _shak_ing whywast_hisnoth_appeningli_kesher_em_e-

"Huntress! Wake, please!"

Ruby surged awake with a gasp, body still aflame with the dream.

All was quiet save for the merrily crackling fire just a few feet away. For a brief moment she stared, looking back in time to see the shapes crumpled amongst the ashes. Faces twisted in a gruesome rictus. Darkness amidst the surging light, bright embers substituting for hateful eyes.

She shook her head thoroughly, grimacing as her leg pulsed angrily where the poison ate into her flesh.

"Miss Rose?"

Right. Her companion.

"Is something wrong?" she asked warily.

He certainly looked like something was wrong. Shoulders tense, arms held tightly to his sides, the pilot – Kohroku, he'd told her - exuded nervousness tangible enough that the hair on her arms prickled up instinctively.

"The howling. It has been growing louder and closer," he said, a deep frown on his face.

Ruby sat up. Their flight from Horikiri had already been troubled enough by the Colossus, what with the vines erupting at random from the ground to attack them. While before they'd been a nuisance – tools used and thrown away to delay or distract her from the more important danger the Grimm itself posed – without her aura protecting her she was hard pressed to avoid having her legs snared and crushed by their powerful grip.

But worse were the lesser Grimm attracted to the negativity and destruction of such a large settlement. The Colossus might have claimed the lion's share of victims, but Grimm were more than happy to pursue refugees at their most vulnerable.

They were hunters at heart but weren't averse to scavenging their kills.

By the pitch she'd observed earlier, she was certain they'd picked up a pack of Beowolves. Normally she wouldn't have been worried about such weak Grimm. Without her aura, however, fighting an entire pack was dangerous, almost tantamount to suicide.

The huntress closed her eyes, listening. Bright orange seeped through her eyelids from the fire. She didn't let it distract her.

…

Ah.

There it was. Loud, piercing, and tinged with the fury unique to Grimm on the prowl. Kohroku was right, they were much closer now. And their numbers had swollen to several dozen, if the amount of replies the call received was anything to go by.

"You're right," she said finally, loosening her focus. "We'll have to get moving in a few hours."

"Not now?"

"No. Surprised?" Ruby smiled wanly. "They're closer, but still miles off and not moving very fast right now. They'll probably bed down for the night soon."

"I see."

He didn't. The tension in his shoulders spoke louder than his words ever could. Something hung over him like a dark cloud, screening his true feelings from her. He sat in front of the fire to warm his hands, staring deep into the flames.

Too alert to sleep now, Ruby regarded the Mistrallan curiously. Now that they weren't fighting or running for their lives through miles of wilderness, her bemusement from much earlier returned…

Nothing for it.

"Why are you here?" she asked bluntly.

"I… pardon?"

"The fight earlier. Why would you jump into it? You're a pilot, not a huntsman," she pointed out. "You might have aura, but you don't have the training to use it in combat. Why join a fight like that?"

He shifted on the spot, pulling his knees up to his chest, khakis reflecting the flickering light and shadow. His expression twisted into something troubled.

That wouldn't do. She scooted closer to grasp his shoulder, giving him a tight squeeze when he looked at her askance. Silver eyes glinted kindly. "You don't have to answer if you don't want to, I'm just curious."

He tried to shake her off, but it was halfhearted at best. "No, you deserve an answer. It's just that… I hate – I…" Kohroku trailed off, eyes closing as he gathered his thoughts. Ruby's smile dimmed, but she waited, lending him some strength through her touch.

Several minutes passed in silence, until it was broken.

"Horikiri was not the first town I have seen burn," the pilot admitted finally. "Not even the second, nor the third… Sometimes I am bringing huntsmen to clean up the Grimm, sometimes I am finding a safe spot to land so that I can rescue survivors. It is always the same – tears or stoicism or anger, everything past the smoke is pain. When I saw you down there, and the others jumping down to help..."

Ruby felt a twinge in her stomach, her eyes squeezing shut as echoes of her dream played across her mind's eye.

"I am not a councilor to make laws that protect people, or a doctor to cure people of their hurts and ills," he continued, voice dipping low. "Nor a huntsman for others to look up to. I want to help people, but am I doing the most I can, just being an airship pilot?"

"You think you could be doing more."

"Yes! I have my aura unlocked. Perhaps with more training I could even discover my semblance. I…" Kohroku sighed, and Ruby empathized with the tired look on his face. "I am tired of feeling useless in the face of suffering."

The Beowolves howled again, backdrop to the nocturnal hum of the forest and the gentle crackling of the flames. Ruby let the moment hang, several minutes passing by as both immersed themselves deep in introspection.

Did she understand how Kohroku felt? In the cordoned section of her heart she kept under tight reign, lest it corrode her will to act, she did. Impotence was a huntress' bane, the reason they trained their bodies and minds so rigorously every single day. Ruby hadn't considered before how it must feel for the other people involved in their vocation; pilots like Kohroku, or the relief workers sent into villages to help them recover from failed raids, or any of the dozens of others tasked with keeping the Grimm at bay.

She was a huntress, always at the head of the action or, these days, working alone. She might talk to the people she worked beside; get to know them and develop a rapport, but none of those bonds had ever developed enough for her to hear of such personal demons, to look behind the curtain…

Time to change that.

"Twelve years ago, Beacon fell," she said suddenly, startling her companion. "I was just a freshman then. The girl killed in the tournament was one of my best friends… Penny Polendina… When the real fighting started, so many of the people I knew, civilian and huntsman alike, were hurt or killed by Grimm or the White Fang or the Atlesian mechs rampaging through the city. I fought as hard as I could, but… a lot of the time, it wasn't enough."

Ruby scooped up a hand of the soft earth, appreciating the cool dampness as it crumbled through her fingers. "Later, my… partner… and I were searching for two of our friends who'd gone missing. We found one – Jaune – but he'd been separated from his partner. I ran ahead once we knew where she was, but I was too late. She died the moment after I found her, killed by the woman who orchestrated it all…"

"Huntress, I-"

"I never felt more helpless in my life than in that moment," Ruby interrupted forcefully. "When I saw my team, they were crippled or shattered. My friends… they were dead, or grieving. My family was confused and scrambling for some way to help make everything better in the aftermath."

She turned to look the pilot directly in the eyes, her own silver blazing brightly. "Those feelings didn't go away." The earth disappeared in her clenched fist. "But I kept fighting. Horikiri isn't the first village I've seen destroyed either. It won't be the last time I'm too slow to save the day."

"You've done great things though!" Kohroku protested. "You've saved hundreds of people, killed countless Grimm! You're the Reaper, scourge of Mistral's bandit tribes – one of the greatest huntresses alive!"

"Being the Reaper didn't help anyone in that village," Ruby rebuffed. "But that's not my point. I've failed a lot, in my life. Too slow, too weak, too tired, or too late."

She jabbed a finger into his chest. He jerked backwards. "That doesn't make the people I _did_ save worthless. You think you can do more to help people? Fine. We can always do better. But the work you've done up to this point hasn't been wasted; I'm sure there are dozens of people grateful that you were there for them in their time of need… You should be proud of that."

A long moment passed as she glared into his shocked, steel-grey eyes. Ruby saw something click as her message got through to him. His expression softened in understanding, a tiny smile quirking his lips upwards.

"I see your meaning," the pilot said reflectively. "Pilot or huntsman, we all face failure. I am a fool for thinking my work useless or inadequate for not achieving perfection."

Ruby smiled. "Spoken like a true Mistrallan."

He chuckled. "Indeed."

Her fists loosened, earth dropping to the ground. She wiped her hand against her leg, scooting away to give him his space. Glancing up, she saw that the moon was still high in the sky. "You should get some sleep," she said kindly.

"It is still my watch, Huntress."

She shook her head. "I'm not tired right now. Might as well let you rest."

She _was_ tired, actually. Exhausted. But she doubted she'd find any sleep tonight.

"You are sure?" Though concerned for her, she could see his eyes flitting toward the makeshift bedroll they'd made for him.

She waved him off with a smile, tucking her chin up on her knee. The pilot was quick to tuck himself underneath the covers, his breathing slowing into the regular cadence of slumber mere minutes after.

Alone at last, Ruby sighed.

She hadn't lied to the man. Every life was worth it – she'd never be able to go on as a huntress if she didn't truly believe so. Their work benefited countless people, giving them the opportunity to live and find their own happiness. But…

Within the flames, hidden amidst the coals and embers, eyes bright and accusing stared back at her, and she couldn't help but doubt.

X_0_X

Sun's anxiety was starting to rub off on him.

"—knew things would go wrong when she took that mission…"

Scarlet David shot a sideways glance toward his partner Sage. They'd just ushered out the representative from the Mistral council, silently expressing their gratitude while Sun ranted in the background.

"—should have said something…!"

They'd returned to the kitchen amidst the clamor, Sun's voice cracking like it hadn't since their years at Haven. Scarlet eyed the stain on the far wall with trepidation, ceramic shards littering the floor: the remains of a mug of cocoa Scarlet brewed for Sun while the official delivered his message. At the table, Sage scowled into his cereal, deep in thought while they processed the news.

At least, Scarlet would be processing the news if he didn't have to listen to the increasingly-loud, increasingly-hysterical dulcet tones of their team leader.

His partner's fingers clenched around his spoon, unnatural strength gifted to him by his semblance beginning to warp the weak metal. If Scarlet didn't intercede soon then more things were going to break and this time, he'd need more than a broom and dustpan to clean it all up…

"Sun," Scarlet cut in finally, grimacing as bloodshot eyes snapped toward him. Sun's posture screamed _Hostile_ in a way he was deeply uncomfortable with seeing directed his way. Suddenly putting an end to his tirade seemed much more daunting. "I…"

No, idiot! Don't lose it now! His hands wrung underneath the table. "Ruby's going to be okay. You know that, right?"

Scarlet berated himself. Stupid! _'What kind of weak comfort was that?!'_

"No, I don't, and you… don't know either, Scarlet," Sun snapped. The blonde swayed on the spot, hand rising to his temple briefly. Scarlet's lips thinned. Sun hadn't been sleeping well for days, even after Ruby forced him to lay down. "You… and me, we don't know shit right now, we…" Sun's face twisted, his eyes widening slightly. Scarlet could read the signs of vertigo as easily as if they were emblazoned in neon.

Scarlet was out of his seat instantly, slinging an arm around Sun's torso as his legs failed him. Scarlet lowered his teammate to the floor slowly, allowing the blonde's forehead to rest on his shoulder.

The faunus was still muttering to himself as Scarlet eased him into a seated position, back to the wall with his head between his knees. Scarlet was all business; checking his pulse, temperature, and anything else he could think of. Sage joined him, holding Sun's shoulder steady. The spoon he'd been using was a twisted mess in his other, clenched, fist.

"…can't…" Sun muttered faintly.

Sage growled angrily. "He needs sleep."

"I know, Sage."

"Well why can't he fucking do it then! He's been laying down for hours!"

Scarlet frowned at his partner, shoving down the same thoughts brewing in the back of his mind guiltily. "He's got a condition Sage. It's not his fault."

"I know! I just…" the spoon clattered on the wood flooring. Sage ran his hand through his hair, expression tight with frustration. "Dust, Scarlet, he's killing himself like this."

Sun continued to mumble, eyes focused on nothing. Scarlet watched his leader sorrowfully, wishing he could do more. He didn't have any answers for Sage; his partner spoke to their shared fears.

What if Sun died? What would they do? Losing Neptune nearly destroyed them all, and Scarlet knew that losing Sun would be even worse. Every time they went out on assignments it lingered in the back of his mind: would this be the moment Sun made a fatal mistake? Would all that missed sleep finally do him in?

All it took was a moment of inattention. A moment of dull reflexes. He and Sage couldn't be there all the time, watching his back. Their work didn't allow it.

Worse, he had no answers for Sun either. Not until Ruby got back alive and well. The alternative…

He didn't like thinking about that.

"Look," Scarlet breathed out through his nose. "Sun's not going to get anything done like this. If you bring him to his room, we can have him take a few of those pills the doctor gave him. I'll go over to Ruby's place and get it ready for her to come back so he doesn't freak out."

"You know he hates those things."

Don't remind him. "They fuck him up, and he won't be able to go on assignments for a few days after, but he's going to hurt himself or start really messing with his body if we don't do something," Scarlet countered. "I'll take the heat if he blows up about it later."

The dark-haired man considered it, a fearsome scowl contorting his features, before he gave in with a sigh. "Fine. I'll keep an eye on him and make sure he stays put." Sage lifted Sun into a bridal carry, adjusting the weight with a grunt. "When you're done, can you give the doctor a call and give him an update?"

"Done." Scarlet got to his feet, already going over a short list in his head of what he'd need to do at Ruby's before returning home. Before Sage left with him, he gave Sun's wrist a quick squeeze, which went completely ignored as the faunus continued muttering to himself.

It was dark outside when Scarlet stepped out of the house, the moon and its many satellites glowing silver-white against the void. He shivered, tucking his hands deep into his pockets against the cold, wondering if Ruby was stuck out in the wild in the middle of this kind of weather.

He wasn't close with the little reaper – not like Sun was – but she made a point of befriending everyone she could, and he'd been among the first she'd sought out in Mistral when she immigrated from the newly-recovered city of Vale. Friends of Sun were friends of hers, she'd said.

He and Sage had shared bemusement that such a tiny, tired-looking slip of a girl could be the charismatic leader Sun had described her as… until they challenged her to a fight and got their asses handed to them on a silver platter.

Scarlet now had a healthy respect for that murder-scythe she had – unironically – nicknamed 'Sweetheart.' Sage even had a faint scar across his back from his short-lived duel with the girl, where she'd cloven through his aura after wearing him down with her – frankly unfair – speed and avoidance tactics.

A loss was a loss, however, and both he and Sage had quickly gotten over their disappointment once they realized just how sweet a person Ruby was. She was kind, too. Confident. Friendly. Sociable… and just like his leader, damaged.

He saw it in the little slips she made; the flash of naked emotion when she heard the wrong music, the topics they'd learned to avoid bringing up, the late nights she and Sun would share together, just talking or texting, when sleep was elusive… Scarlet knew what it was like to lose a teammate. He could relate to her loss and admired her tenacity and will to move forward… it was inspiring to see in person.

But she was damaged in a way he couldn't help. Just like Sun.

As he unlocked the door to her home, using the key he'd borrowed from Sun's ring (itself foisted on him by the energetic reaper), Scarlet could only hope he wasn't cleaning up for someone who would never arrive.

X_0_X

In the grey pre-dawn light, they cleared up their makeshift camp in record time.

Ruby's eyes burned with fatigue as she crammed her bedroll into her pack, rolling it over her shoulders and tightening down the straps. Nearby, Kohroku fiddled with his dirtied uniform, eyes bright and alert. He'd snapped awake the moment she'd touched his shoulder, sunrise only minutes away.

They'd scarfed down a cold breakfast; jerky and dried fruit with a few precious mouthfuls of water to sate their appetites. Her leg complained all the while, the bandages probably needing to be changed, but there was no time.

She gave the distress beacon, retrieved from Kohroku's survival kit the night before, one more examination to make sure it was still working. Check.

Map. Pouches. Crescent Rose. Heron. Pocket-knife. Canteen. All check.

"Let's go," Ruby said brusquely, just before the sky lit up with the sun's arrival.

They froze momentarily, adjusting to the change in the light. Then, howls split the air, far too close. Ruby had hoped to put a few miles distance between them and the Grimm before they'd awaken, but she'd let the pilot sleep too long.

If they died for her mistake…

"Huntress?"

"I said let's go!" she barked, ignoring her trepidation and breaking into a measured jog. Kohroku joined her, matching her pace easily with experience born of military training. It was a pace designed to eat up the miles with a minimum of rest. On her injured leg, Ruby knew it wasn't sustainable in the long term, but they needed to put some distance between themselves and the Grimm before their trail was discovered.

Kohroku's measured breathing soon synched up with her own as they moved steadily north, feet crunching through the undergrowth. He trusted her to guide them to safety. Even with something as innocuous as setting their pace. Trusted her measure of her own capabilities, and her estimation of his.

Her resolve hardened.

She wouldn't fail that trust. They would live. She would make sure of it.

X_0_X

"Everyone's got their weapons ready? Coco, you've got enough ammo?"

"Locked and loaded, Vel."

"Fox, you've got all the medical supplies prepped?"

"All set!"

"Yatsu—"

"I am physically and mentally prepared for this endeavor, Velvet," Yatsuhashi smiled, serene and towering with his curved buster sword resting on his shoulder. The giant hardly looked bothered by the weight.

Their airship shuddered again, their haste pushing it to the very limits of its capabilities. Velvet ignored it, all her focus on her team. "And I'm all set…" she muttered to herself, fingering the short sword at her waist – a compromise she'd made with Coco after an especially prolonged battle that saw her run out of pictures to fuel Anesidora.

Coco reached around Fox to pat her on the shoulder. "Hey now," the brunette soothed, her tone at odds with the cocky smirk adorning her lips. "We're almost there. Ruby's going to be fine and you'll see that you had nothing to worry about."

"I know…" Her long, brown ears flattened over her skull, twitching in response to her nervousness. She never could control the damn things…

"Undue stress may inhibit your performance, Velvet," Yatsuhashi counselled. "Relax and marshal your energies for when you must act."

That didn't help her feel better at all. "…Okay?"

"Just focus on breathing."

Better. Velvet immersed herself in the exercises her team had walked her through since their days at Beacon, the better to handle her anxiety. In. Out.

Turbulence rattled the ship again. This time, something behind them groaned, then fizzled, then going dead silent. This of course set off an alarm that grated on her ears and completely destroyed Velvet's concentration.

Fox coughed. "Think that was important?"

"Pilot?" Velvet called, partly annoyed, partly relieved for the distraction.

"_It's nothing worth troubling yourselves over,"_ the pilot responded over the intercom, professionally calm. _"Ship's not made to go this fast for so long, she's starting to feel the strain. We'll get her looked at once we're back in Mistral."_

The alarm continued to blare.

"_Er, we'll turn that off for you."_

The sound died. Velvet and Fox exchanged bemused looks, and the redhead shrugged. If they were okay with it…?

"How far to go before we start our search?" Coco called up to the cockpit.

"_We're picking up on Grimm signatures a few klicks south of here. You might want to get ready to go in case they're after your target."_

They each straightened, hands going to weapons and supplies in one last check. Velvet felt her heartrate begin to rise, her breathing hastening to match the adrenaline entering her bloodstream. This was it. More than any average assignment, this mission had serious consequences.

Do or die. Or, do or Ruby dies…

"Alright CFVY," Coco barked. Velvet flinched, breaking out of her thoughts. She looked at the brunette, at her _leader_, for direction. "We're on a time limit for this one, and we don't know the countdown. Our job is to extract Ruby and whoever else she's with and get out. If they're split up, we'll track down whoever's missing. Nothing more, and nothing less – we're not here to get bogged down fighting Grimm if we can help it."

They nodded seriously, Fox and Yatsuhashi with expressions hard as stone. Velvet drew strength from them, letting their resolve fill her. They had their mission. She could do this. _They_ could do this.

"Velvet, you and Fox take point. Yatsuhashi and I will draw the pack's attention and hold them off while you secure the targets and get them to safety."

"Aye aye!"

"Got it Coco."

"_Grimm signatures confirmed,"_ the pilot spoke over the intercom. "_A large Beowolf pack is massing to the south. They're converging on a smaller signature – Mistral standard distress beacon. That'll be our missing pilot. Fifteen seconds to the drop zone."_

Velvet stood, drawing her short sword in one hand and taking hold of one of the overhead handles with the other. Her team lined up beside her as the door slid open mechanically, freezing wind filling the fuselage and scattering Velvet's hair.

Should have tied it back…

With her enhanced hearing she could hear the faint pounding footfalls of dozens of Grimm below, as well as the punctuating sound of gunshots. One, low powered and quiet, the other the loud and distinctive 'crack!' of a rifle.

Ruby… Thank Dust.

"_You're above the drop zone now. Good luck huntsmen."_

Velvet steeled herself and leapt.

X_0_X

Two hours.

A part of Ruby felt proud of how long they'd kept ahead of the pack, given their late start and the odds stacked against them. As the sun climbed higher in the sky, she'd disregarded the pain flaring in her leg completely (as well as the twinging she felt in the other) and pressed onwards, Kohroku right beside her as they trekked northward.

It wasn't to last, however. The first Grimm finally overcame their position an hour prior, and they'd been just barely keeping ahead of the teeth nipping at their heels since. When they needed a moment to rest, they would sprint forward, Ruby pressing into her semblance to give them the extra distance they needed. That would give them maybe a minute to breathe and take a drink before they were forced to start moving once more.

The bulk of the pack was further behind them, the massing Grimm much slower to traverse the dense woodland than the two humans. The fastest Grimm quickly died, bisected by Crescent Rose with nary more than a whimper.

She was fairly certain survival of the fittest wasn't supposed to work that way, but she'd never been the most attentive student in biology.

Unfortunately, their numbers continued to grow. Ruby could feel the fatigue spreading through her limbs like poison. She'd been forced to relax the efficient march already, and each brief skirmish with the encroaching Beowolves sapped her of aura and stamina.

Kohroku panted as they came to another rest. Ruby pressed her forehead into a nearby tree trunk, relishing in the cool, smooth bark.

"We can't maintain this pace, Huntress," the pilot croaked, taking a quick swig from his canteen.

"I know," Ruby replied tiredly. "We've just got to hold on until your beacon gets someone's attention. We're bound to get lucky soon."

She believed those words. She did. Mistral was an efficient kingdom – and it had learned its lesson after the massacre of its huntsmen population a decade prior. It wouldn't leave them to die. They just had to keep moving.

Ruby breathed deeply. "Alright, break time's over. We've got to move."

"Right."

The man replaced his canteen on his belt, but Ruby's eyes were drawn to the side, where hateful orbs glared from the thick foliage. They locked, silver and crimson, and several things happened at once.

Crescent Rose unfolded in a glory of sliding metal, not even completing its transformation before she swung upwards to intercept the pouncing Grimm. Ruby's senses screamed at her to turn however – it was an ambush; they'd been encircled at some point, some of the faster Grimm of the pack swinging wide to overtake them and intercept their path ahead of the rest. Simple, but terribly clever, and terribly deadly for the two.

Meanwhile, off in the distance, Ruby picked up the faint, familiar sound of an approaching airship. She didn't have the time to consider this, however. She poured her aura into her attack – into Crescent Rose specifically – praying it would be fast enough to catch the other two Beowolves behind her before they slammed into her and her companion.

The first died easily; impaled through the throat by her reactionary swing. The second died on the follow-through, its paltrily-armored chest ripped open by the murderous blade. She was too slow to stop the third, however.

Kohroku cried out as the beast crashed into him in a flash of shattering aura, one hand shielding his face and the other firing his tiny pistol into the Beowolf's guts. Ruby finished the beast right as he hit the ground, Crescent Rose's mournful song punctured by the sound of snapping bone and the pilot's pained gasp.

The Beowolf dissolved immediately, revealing the pilot cradling his misshapen leg with a bloody arm. Ruby knelt beside him immediately. "Shit," she muttered angrily, examining the injury.

Luckily the break was clean and hadn't broken skin, while his arm was only scratched up and not seriously damaged. Unluckily, the injury was still easily bad enough to prevent him from walking any distance on his own.

Ruby stared at the broken limb for several seconds, ever mindful of the quickly diminishing gap between them and the pack…

She couldn't carry him.

They'd last a minute if she did – if she used her semblance, at least. But she would be too slow otherwise and they'd be overtaken easily. And should she tap the last dregs of her aura she'd be totally drained from the effort, in no shape to defend them.

"Okay. _Okay_," she muttered, forcing her mind into high-gear. Running was no longer an option. Her reserves were perilously low, both of body and soul. Fighting was looking like a worse option by the moment… They were only Beowolves though, she could make a stand and try to – she could buy time for the airship to circle back around and drop the huntsmen, she could probably manage that much… Probably. They had the numbers to overwhelm her – but if they played with their food then she had a chance.

"Huntress."

"You're going to be alright Kohroku," she said stubbornly, a plan quickly taking shape in her head. Hopefully the Alpha of the pack – there had to be one, Beowolves weren't smart enough to strategize on their own, and that ambush, while simple, was evidence enough – hopefully it would hang back while its underlings tested her…

"Ruby, you must run."

What?

"_What?_" she hissed. "No, I'm _not_ abandoning you! I can hold them off until the huntsmen arrive."

The pilot cringed as he sat up straight. "No, that's not what I meant," he grunted and shook his head, frustrated. "You are exhausted – if the pack comes up on us then you will die; they will swarm you and there will be nothing you can do about it. _Hide me_ and run – draw their attention, buy time until the huntsmen can deal with the pack."

Ruby stared at him.

Kohroku glared. "Hurry! Unless you have a better idea?"

…She didn't. Ruby cursed internally that she hadn't thought of it herself. While she loathed the idea of leaving the pilot behind, his plan was sound, and more likely to succeed than playing on the arrogance of the Grimm.

But he would be alone. Injured. The pistol he carried was hardly enough to protect him should one Beowolf come across him, much less dozens, or the whole pack…

Dust damnit…! Why could _nothing_ go right for once?

Fuming and frustrated, Ruby slung his arm over her shoulder, half-carrying the heavy Mistrallan to a nearby tree deeply set into a nearby hillock. There were plenty of spaces amongst the roots that would fit the pilot; Ruby chose one hidden behind the densest foliage, hoping the camouflage would be enough. The limited cover it offered would buy him time before the Grimm doubled back to scent him out.

Letting him sink into the recess, Ruby shuddered, picturing Kohroku's face alongside the villagers, Bai and Bryce…

No.

He would survive. She would distract the Grimm and he would be rescued. For good measure, Ruby handed him the beacon, knowing that the others would be able to find her by following the Grimm.

"I'll be back," she promised, pausing before she left.

"Be safe, Huntress," the pilot said solemnly, sagging against the trunk.

Ruby smiled shakily at him, feeling exhaustion tugging at her limbs. "I will."

The pilot nodded, gripping his pistol with white knuckles, his other hand inside the small pack of rounds at his waist. Nothing that would stop a determined Grimm for long, but perhaps enough to buy a few seconds for the rescue team to arrive.

Without another word, Ruby took off from the hideaway. Pointing Crescent Rose in the air, she squeezed the trigger twice, feeling the familiar jolt along its haft as the dust rounds screamed into the sky.

Howling and bestial snarls filled the air – _too close!_ \- and Ruby _felt _the attention turn towards her. Distraction achieved. Dark shapes pounded through the forest like a massive, malevolent wave just behind her.

Folding Crescent Rose up to stow at her waist, Ruby poured what residual aura she had left into her semblance, warping the air around her in her desperate bid to put as much distance between herself and Kohroku as possible. Pain shot up her legs within seconds, pooling in the desiccating flesh, bruises and cuts she'd sustained over the last day. The blackened flesh of her ankle seared so badly that her entire leg threatened to give out with every step.

The Grimm howled. The heavy pounding of their feet behind her felt far too close. She poured on the speed, fighting back the agony.

Automatic fire rang out in the forest behind her, a few dozen yards from Kohroku's hiding place. Huntsmen. They would find Kohroku and get him to safety. Her own trail would be easy to find. Just follow the Grimm.

Branches snapped behind her. Ruby felt her semblance shudder. Without warning, the last of her aura withered away, reserves totally exhausted, and she stumbled as a new wave of soul-deep fatigue washed over her. Her cloak fluttered in the weak breeze she'd created, spilling out a stream of rose petals around her.

_Dive. _

Muted pain bloomed in her shoulder, jolting through the rest of her body as she rolled by sheer instinct. The massive, shadowy bulk of a leaping Beowulf sailed over her just as she came up to her feet.

_Turn. Slash._

Crescent Rose unfolded with a metallic 'schink,' its menacing song splitting the air as she swung it around.

The two halves of the now-neatly bisected Beowolf crumpled to the ground, though Ruby spared them no mind, bringing Crescent Rose back around in a wide arc. The Grimm pursuing her skidded to a halt to avoid the wicked blade, fanning out to encircle her.

Her weapon gleamed eagerly in the low light. The simple sight of the blade comforted her. Resetting her grip on the snath and taking in the circle of foes, Ruby took a few calming breaths. She met the eyes of the largest Grimm in the pack – a Beowolf larger than its fellows and covered in lean muscle, sporting the dull, boney armor all its kind were known for.

It bore several scars along its body; results of territorial fighting with other Grimm, and a few distinctive signs of huntsmen weaponry. This was the Alpha, then. Older, stronger, and more cunning than the younger Grimm surrounding her.

The pack awaited their Alpha's command. The gunshots – now accompanied by the sound of blades parting flesh and bone – were drawing near.

The Alpha snarled, and Ruby tensed her body in anticipation.

_Whirl. Slice up, across the body. Down. Right. Follow through. Reverse, and leap!_

Several Beowolves died, their foul, reeking blood watering the earth.

Instincts drilled into her by Beacon's training and years of professional experience reigned over her body in full force. Ruby relished in the experience of simply surrendering to them, exhaustion for now forgotten - of giving over to the pulse in her veins and the whirling, energetic dance she and Crescent Rose performed as their foes streamed toward them.

_Left. Back. Right. Follow through. Sweep. BACK. _

The Alpha leapt at Ruby, interrupting her rhythm. Every instinct in her screamed to _get away_ as the beast crashed into where she'd been mere moments ago. It snarled, furious as it swatted at the fluttering rose petals she left in her wake, her cloak fluttering to a halt behind her.

The Alpha charged her position again _Dive_ and Ruby slammed the transformation switch on Crescent Rose as she came up on one knee, already taking aim at its flank.

The forest trembled as the Alpha growled low in its throat, shrugging off the dust rounds that would have staggered a lesser Grimm and leaping at her again.

_Dive. LEFT!_

"Argh!"

Ruby howled as the Alpha's paw slammed into her ribcage, having anticipated her movements. The small amount of aura she'd regenerated prevented it from crushing her entirely, but she felt the harsh fire of wicked-sharp claws gouging new lines into her side, and the deep pulsing throb of bruised ribs.

The blow sent her reeling on the ground, Crescent Rose clattering to the ground nearby.

_GET UP MOVE DO SOMETHING THOSE WHO FALL IN COMBAT DIE. _

Her head came up blearily as her senses flared intensely. She could sense the Alpha in her peripheral vision as it turned around for another charge. Could hear the triumphant howls of its pack in the background.

More howls and snarling further away, near the gunshots.

_MOVE, RUBY!_

Her eyes settled on Crescent Rose, alone on the ground. Her arms reached out, fingers brushing the snath, wrapping around its cool, comforting touch.

_DON'T LOOK AWAY FROM IT, YOU DOLT!_

Painfully slowly, she pulled Crescent Rose back to her, both hands gripping it with white-knuckled fervor. Silver eyes met malevolent crimson as the Alpha barreled toward her. Time became a crawl, and the whole world dropped away. Just the Hunter and its Prey. Everything diminished to shades of grey, save the burning orbs locked on her own.

**Thump.**

Slavering jaws closed around Crescent Rose, jolting her entire body backwards as the Alpha's momentum carried them across the clearing. She held her arms ramrod-straight against it, holding the monstrous beast back from closing its fearsome jaws around her head and ending the fight.

**Thump.**

Her back slammed into the solid bulk of a tree. Ruby whimpered as pain shot through her entire body, arms bending under the concentrated force.

**Thump.**

Her heartbeat throbbed in her ears as her body strained against the Alpha. Three hundred pounds of dense muscle and inhuman fury bore down on her.

**Thump.**

Ruby gritted her teeth, every muscle in her body on fire.

**Thump.**

'_I'm going to die.'_

**Thump. **

Her eyes widened, tears pooling over the silver lakes that had drawn her into this life. Her arms _burned_.

**Thump.**

'_Please no! Not like this! Not after everything!'_

**Thump.**

Crescent Rose descended. Ruby could feel the Grimm's humid, disgusting breath on her face as it overpowered her.

**Thump.**

'_Be strong, Ruby.'_

**Thump.**

'_I'm sorry, Mom. I'm not strong enough this time…'_

Just as her arms were about to give out, a gunshot rang through the clearing with startling sharpness. The weight on Ruby's arms disappeared and Crescent Rose clattered into her lap as the Alpha staggered away from her with a pained yelp, the soft tendons behind one of its' kneecaps pulped by the shot, to meet the new combatants.

Ruby stared at her hands, imprinted ugly red and white from Crescent Rose pressing into them. Without the Alpha dominating her senses it felt like the entire world had fallen away.

**Thump.**

The fighting seemed to grow distant, though a new sound replaced it. Steady footsteps, heavy and muffled against the ground. Ruby looked up and saw another Beowolf, smaller, younger, _weaker,_ and no longer held back by the command of its Alpha.

The two locked eyes, icy despair rolling down Ruby's spine as it snarled and lunged at her.

_Up._

Crescent Rose whipped upwards, but too slow. Exhausted by the struggle with the Alpha, Ruby could only watch in impotent horror as the Beowolf ducked underneath the sloppy strike and closed its jaws around her forearm.

**Thump.**

Agony shot up past her shoulder, bone crunching beneath the razor-sharp teeth digging into corded muscle with all of the force of a bear trap. Ruby screamed and tried to pull her arm back from the Grimm, only to feel her voice die out into a whimper as the action tore flesh from bone.

**Thu-ump.**

Pleased with its success, the Beowolf released her arm and backed up a step, before darting forward to bat an oversized paw against Ruby's head. The blow knocked her senseless, and she slumped limply against the tree, letting the Grimm inspect its prize.

**Thump.**

Pain. Dull spots of black and white danced across Ruby's vision. Her head throbbed in time to her heartbeat, so loud in her ears. Dazed, deathly afraid, and lacking any other options to protect herself, Ruby drew her knees up to her chest and cradled her mangled arm against herself, ignoring the hot, sticky blood fitfully spurting and desperately trying to block out the pain signals everything was sending to her brain.

Distant crashes, pops, splintered wood and horrid cracks. All was nothing to the throb of her pounding pulse in her ears.

**Thump.**

Seconds passed.

**Thump.**

…

**Thump.**

Why wasn't she dead yet?

Ruby cracked open her eyes weakly, before slamming them shut with a whimper. Everything hurt, and even the soft, filtered of midmorning was more than enough to set her head throbbing.

**Thump.**

She could hear something, just barely, over the pounding of her heart. Distant and indistinct. Something soft touched her shoulder and she cringed, expecting death at any moment.

"-by? Ruby!"

The touch on her shoulder tightened, another similar feeling appearing on the other shoulder. Hands. They shook Ruby, jostling her arm and her head. She whimpered pitifully, willing the presence away.

**Thump.**

"Velvet, stop! You're going to hurt her more."

"Oh Dust, Ruby, I'm so sorry! Fox, can you go get Yatsu over here with one of those stretchers? She needs medical attention ASAP."

"On it. Keep an ear out though, no telling whether that pack will be back or not."

Ruby felt her heartbeat recede as her other senses returned. The hands on her shoulder disappeared, as well as the nauseating shaking. Her whole head rang, her chest tight like a drum, the pulsating echo against it a memory of the pounding throb it had been mere seconds ago.

"You're gonna be alright, Ruby. We've got you now. You're going to be alright."

Were she in a better state, Ruby might have been concerned by how watery the voice sounded. But as it was, it was all she could do to merely keep a hold on consciousness. She distantly heard the sound of fabric ripping. She didn't question it until gentle hands pulled her mangled arm away from her chest and swiftly wrapped it up in something soft.

Ruby's vision flashed red as the hands roughly tightened the makeshift bandage, bone grinding together and blood continuing to gush hot and sticky. Her ears rang, and it wasn't until she heard the voice again soothing her again that she realized that her throat was now raw from her screaming.

The huntress withdrew in on herself, ignoring the voice. The pain. A trickle of blood ran down her cheek from her temple, warm on her clammy skin.

"Hey! You've got her?"

"Over here Yatsu, quickly!"

Ruby heard heavy footsteps approaching her, her heart clenching in momentary panic as memories of the Beowolves sprung to mind.

"Dust… Velvet, what happened to her?"

"She was savaged by a Beowolf… We thought she would be safe while we dealt with the Alpha, but one of the smaller ones got to her while we were distracted."

"Help me get her on the stretcher."

Large, calloused hands slipped below her armpits, brushing against her bruised ribs. Smaller hands – the ones she'd felt earlier, appeared below her knees to ease her into a lying position. Ruby endured the motion with grit teeth, every ounce of fortitude she possessed dedicated to not vomiting from the sudden vertigo rushing through her.

She felt a brief surge of weightlessness, before her back met something soft. The touches disappeared, and her nausea receded. For a moment she languished, everything was growing numb and grey. Ruby cracked her eyes open to look at her rescuers, and through her pain felt a deep sense of relief upon seeing them.

"You're going to be alright, Ruby," Velvet whispered to her as she picked up her end of the stretcher. Her warm, brown eyes were wet with unshed tears as she looked down on the cloaked huntress. Yatsuhashi led the way back to the Bullhead in silence.

Ruby wanted to ask so many questions, each flying around her spinning mind like pinballs, but settled on the simplest. "Velvet?" she rasped.

The faunus smiled weakly down at her. "Yeah, it's me, Ruby."

"What're you doing here?"

"Rescuing you, silly. What do you think?" Velvet teased gently.

"I… oh. That's good… Is Kohroku… is he alright? You found him, right?" Why was it so hard to think?

Velvet frowned. Ruby didn't see it, her eyes were scrunched shut again against her headache… it felt as though the Beowolf was there again, kicking her skull like a perverse football. "The pilot?" the faunus asked. "Fox will have him on the airship by now, I think. We lost a minute getting to you just pulling the pack's attention away from him. He's a little roughed up, but he should recover."

Ruby gritted her teeth. "T-that's good."

She opened her eyes again, but that was a mistake. Her vision swam sickeningly, red and grey and pulsing in time with her headache. "Velvet," she gasped.

"We're almost there Ruby, just hold on." The words came out pained.

"W-why does it _hurt_ so much?"

She wanted to curl up into a ball, but her body would not obey her. Blood already seeped out of the makeshift bandage around her arm. Ruby could feel it, hot and sticky on her stomach, smelling like old coins to her fading senses.

"I'm so s—_Fox!" _Ruby whimpered at the yell. "Get over here! Ruby needs medical attention, now!"

What followed quickly turned into a blur as her rescuers burst into a jog. Ruby distantly noticed when they came to a stop; she was lowered to the ground and gentle hands marked with callouses moved all over her body, testing bones and bruises and _moving her arm away from her chest…!_

"Sorry Ruby," the owner of the hands – Fox – muttered after she'd stopped screaming, her abused vocal cords finally failing her.

"Is she going to be alright?"

"Don't worry about her, hun. Fox here will take care of Ruby – you just sit tight and don't move that leg."

"Her legs are going to need some attention," a deep voice commented quietly.

"One thing at a time, Yatsu. She's going to bleed out if I don't work on her arm first."

She _was_ feeling kind of cold… Ruby felt something tight wrapping around her arm – her muddled thoughts reached for the term – tourn…? – but it slipped away before she could properly grasp it.

"Alright Ruby, I'm really sorry but there's no way around it. I need to properly check out your arm and set the bones before I can do an aura transfer." Ruby didn't like the sound of that. "Velvet, have her bite down on this."

A thick strip of… something. Leather? Was pressed between Ruby's teeth. What was…?

"Alright Ruby, on three I'm going to remove the bandage."

Oh no.

"One."

This was going to _suck_, deep breaths, deep breaths.

"Two." Fox deftly removed the wrapping and Ruby's vision throbbed red and black. She groaned piteously into the gag. What had happened to three?!

"Three."

Oh, there it waaaaaa—Pain_pain_PAIN er_upted in R_uby's ARM _and she _was scre_aming in_to the l_eat_her teeth GRIND_ING _down ohDUSTmake_itstop_ and_ HE_R world _went b_lack.

* * *

**I a lot of fun writing this chapter - some of my favorite things I've ever written are in here, actually - so I hope you all enjoyed. **

**One thing I'd like to make a note about early on is that this story takes place in a dubious continuation of the canon. I decided early on to make the executive decision to make V5's finale the hard cutoff between Canon and The Last Rose. Before that point, the closer things get to the end of V5 the murkier things get - I had different priorities in writing this than Canon RWBY had in their narrative, so things like the Relics and Salem will take a backseat to the Grimm and the fallout of the Fall of Vale in this story, if they get mentioned at all. **

**I wanted to write a story about Huntsman, about Grimm, about the fallout from the Fall of Vale, and about Ruby as a character. I'm not one of those people who feel like she's had zero development in canon, but I did want to explore her character more myself. Where those goals conflicted with the canon, I defenestrated the canon with a smile. **

**Please leave a review! Would love to hear some feedback on this story. **


	4. Broken Wings

**Disclaimer: I don't own RWBY or its characters, I'm just playing in the sandbox.**

* * *

"_I told you guys I'm fine, I don't need this kind of pampering!"_

"_But Blaaaaake~ I made chicken noodle soup just for you!"_

"_Ish reawy goo' Bwake!"_

"_Don't talk with your mouth full, Ruby. It's uncivilized."_

"_Guys…"_

"_I added tuuuuna to the recipe~" _

…

_The sick faunus sighed._

"…_In no way does this mean I'm okay with this."_

_The heiress of the group didn't look up from her homework. "Just accept those two are going to smother you already, Blake. They did with me when _I _caught the flu." She sniffed. "You're just lucky team JNPR hasn't heard about it yet or you'd have Ren trying to slip that slime of his into your food and Pyrrha playing the amazon nursemaid."_

"…_Right."_

…

_I've had to learn… through long, painful experience, that there are times that you'll be down and need a helping hand to pick you back up. Some of us have a hard time recognizing the hand when we see it. Or accepting it when extended. _

_Blake would twist sympathy into pity and kindness into contempt and mockery, never once suspecting that it was normal for people to want to simply care for and protect her. It took time – a long time – before she learned to think better of our concern. _

_The love we all shared was stronger, in the end, for the struggle we put up to help her recognize the truth. It was worth every tear, every argument, every hug and laugh._

_*Sigh…* Silly girl. Was there ever a doubt we'd be there for you?_

X_0_X

Dark shapes warred throughout her mind as Ruby shifted into consciousness. Hunched over with contorted limbs, or crawling with misshapen gaits on four or more legs, they glared at her with burning eyes. Accusing, so full of hatred, of loathing…

Her brow scrunched. She felt so hot…

X_0_X

"—but you're getting better every day. Sun's out fetching groceries right now… He's been a great caretaker for you, did you know that?"

Long, clever fingers carded through Ruby's hair. She could feel dampness on her scalp, a tiny trickle sneaking its way below her collar. It was cool against her skin, but she was so hot all over that it was nice…

There was a whimsical note to the voice now. "Your hair is so lovely... I'm a little jealous of it, actually. So long and thick. Lustrous, but none of that messiness I remember Yang complaining about back at Beacon."

Ruby shied, eyebrows tightening. She remembered… golden tresses and affection… warmth, running a comb through that glorious mane… braiding, styling, being a good sister and helping with the grooming _she_ had trouble with on her own…

The hands paused, in the midst of working out a knot. "Oh! Are you awake? Ruby?"

But she was gone, retreating…

X_0_X

"_Miss Rose!"_

So loud…

"_Look, man. I know you need more information for the assignment, but Ruby needs to rest."_

"_We're leaving in three days' time, Wukong, we don't have time to wait."_

What…?

"_Sir, please, you have the footage to look at while she's resting – we told you we'd let you know the next time she wakes up!" _

Velvet? What… what was going on?

The voices continued to argue in hushed voices, but Ruby was terribly confused. What did they want from her? She was so tired… she didn't feel as overbearingly hot as before; now she felt like her every muscle was made of jam.

"…!"

She couldn't muster the energy to crack open her eyelids, but she felt the attention shift to her.

"Ruby?"

She groaned weakly, curling her fingers at her side… Oh. Only on the one hand… the other was numb…

A different voice interjected, gruffer, deeper, and more sympathetic. "We'll come back tomorrow."

"W-wha—, er. Right. Thanks."

"Save it, Wukong. We—" The second voice interrupted again. "Riot, just leave it. We'll be back tomorrow, lad. She needs to be awake by then." Then they were gone, taking their loudness with them.

Much better…

A quiet presence puttered around close by. It felt familiar, even if she couldn't quite remember who it was... It was enough for her, however, and she quickly sank back into slumber.

X_0_X

Ruby woke slowly, eyes flickering open blearily in the morning light streaming through a nearby window. Everything ached, from the pounding beat quickly forming in her temples to the slow burn of… something… in her legs. Like tiny needles prickling under her skin…

Oh Dust, that light…

Some of her normal strength had finally returned, enough that Ruby was able to shift the covers slowly aside. Similarly slowly, she eased her body around, breathing deeply through her nose as pain pulsed through her body.

Just to the window. Just close the blinds. Then you can lay back down and sleep.

She managed to stand up, but that immediately proved a mistake. Her temples gave a particularly vicious throb and her strength deserted her. Her knees buckled, and worst of all she managed to clip her arm on the bedside on her way down.

"Agh!"

Sweet fucking _Dust_ that hurt! Her vision wavered, the entire room rising and falling as though she were caught out on the ocean… in a typhoon…!

"_Ruby?!"_

Something in the other room crashed with the sound of breaking pottery, pounding footsteps following.

"Oh shit, Ruby! What are you doing out of bed?!"

Strong, rough hands touched her, feather-light and hesitant to aggravate her injuries further. Ruby curled around her arm tighter, willing the pain away. "G-g-good m-morning, Sun," she gasped.

And then she passed out.

The next time she awoke Ruby was much more lucid. Her arm still throbbed beneath its plaster cast (and when had that gotten there?), but for once the pain was manageable. A low roar compared to the roaring cacophony of before.

Her legs, on the other hand, while not overly painful, felt strangely numb and… slick? There was something wrapped around them – shifting them around, it certainly felt like a bandage, if not any bandage she'd ever had before – but beneath was some sort of paste. A poultice?

And of course, her head still hurt, but she wasn't thinking through molasses like before.

"You awake again, Ruby?"

Silver eyes flickered open. Sun was there, lounging in a chair pulled up from the kitchen at her bedside. A sprawled, open book lay forgotten on the floor beside him. She met his eyes, ignoring the weariness etched into his posture, and smiled. "Hey Sun," she greeted, her voice slightly hoarse.

"Hey."

She stared at him for a long moment. He stared back. Something in his eyes looked further than she was accustomed to with Sun, much further than skin deep. Part of her wanted to withdraw from those piercing eyes, retreat back into the security of unconsciousness, but…

But she owed it to her friend to talk to him. Ruby knew Sun. He would have suffered once he got word of her botched mission. She could look deeper too, and his darkened eyes were far too guarded.

So.

"You were the one who heard me earlier?"

"Yeah."

He sounded incredibly tired, and not very happy. Ruby's heart sank through her chest, realizing something. How long had he…?

"You haven't been sleeping," she observed quietly.

"No."

"I'm sorry."

Sun blinked. Ruby's eyes dropped. She hadn't expected her voice to sound so… timid. Nor for the sudden heat behind her eyes, welling up. He had suffered… his insomnia – his _anxiety_ was probably – _certainly_ flaring… sleeplessness was the symptom, after all, not the disease…

He'd suffered for his worry for _her_. Her voice choked. "I… Sun, I'm so sorry…"

Warm arms wrapped around her and Ruby buried her face in his shoulder, everything coming out at once in a torrent.

The mission. Her long flight and the preparations she'd made. The Deathstalkers. The smoke. Eventually finding the village in flames. The Colossus and her ill-fated battle against it. The cavalry arriving. Their deaths and her flight… all of it crashed down upon her, each memory leading to another in an unstoppable chain of events.

Sun was an attentive listener, gently asking questions to encourage her when it became too much and the words died in her throat. She could feel the headache forming in her temples again, the residual damage from the Beowolf teaming up with her emotions to overwhelm her, but she ruthlessly shoved her discomfort aside.

"I was so _scared_, Sun," she whispered hoarsely, sniffling. "Everyone was dead and I just… I had to protect Kohroku but that meant I needed to run, and I _hate_ running! My semblance makes it so easy, but I can't take anyone with me without exhausting myself and… and…"

Sun rubbed her back as she hiccupped, finally running out of words. "I was scared too," he murmured into her hair. "You're my closest friend, Ruby. Sometimes even closer than Sage and Scarlet… Ever since Neptune died you've always been there when I needed someone who _gets_ it and I was so scared you weren't going to make it back."

"I'm sorry," she whispered, voice rough with emotion.

"I couldn't sleep when you left," Sun admitted. "I couldn't shake this bad feeling… I was _sure_ something would go wrong this time… And when the Guild's messenger came over to give us the news, I lost it. Worked myself into a frenzy and then crashed so hard Scarlet and Sage had to drug me before I hurt myself…"

Ruby carefully pulled him closer with her good arm. "You hate that stuff though."

Sun scoffed. "I didn't give them much choice. I couldn't sleep. _Couldn't._ Not even a wink once you were gone, and I was already a zombie by the time you left…" he stopped suddenly, a weary look in his eyes. "I slept like the dead after that. Three days without waking up. Thirstier than I've ever been when I did, and still tired… but you were there."

"I'm here, Sun."

"Yeah." His arms tightened. "You are."

"I hope I'm not interrupting anything?"

Ruby and Sun jumped, pulling apart to look at the visitor. Ruby smiled to see Velvet, a stylish purse hanging off her shoulder (no doubt Coco's pick) and an armload of groceries in hand. "Hey Velvet."

"Hey Ruby, glad to see you awake and aware," Velvet smiled, letting the groceries drop and bustling over to give her own hug. Ruby returned it as forcefully as she could manage with one arm in a cast, memories of Velvet's fierce concern coming to the forefront of her mind.

She wiped her eyes as they separated, feeling better for the outburst of emotions. The two of them gave her the time to compose herself. "So, are you two my nursemaids now?" Ruby teased – weakly, admittedly – when she was ready.

"Doctor's orders," Sun grinned, looking in better spirits himself. "You've been out like a light, more or less, for nearly a week. You don't remember waking up at all?"

Ruby hummed. Aside from earlier that day? "To be honest, not really. Before today, at least."

Velvet left the room to put the groceries away as she let Sun catch her up on everything she'd missed. Apparently, she'd woken up a few times lucid enough to eat and drink what they gave her and speak a little while, but she'd usually be back asleep within a few minutes.

"It was the only thing keeping the doctor from hooking you up to an IV," Sun told her seriously.

Then he gave her the rest of the doctor's assessment.

Apparently, she'd managed to crush both of the important bones and severely damage the soft tissues of her forearm. While several aura transfers and the assistance of one helpful surgeon's semblance to empower her own healing factor (she'd have to refer him to Jaune sometime…) had ensured she wouldn't lose use of the arm entirely, it would be weeks before she'd be out of the cast and two months _at least_ before she regained full use of it.

Her concussion had receded with little issue – she'd have to take several tests for it later, though with her aura it was unlikely to have left any lasting damage – but her legs were another story.

"You're off your feet for a month," Velvet said once she rejoined them, her voice soft with sympathy.

The Colossus' toxins had killed most of the skin on her lower legs and was in the middle of eating into the fatty tissue and muscle by the time the doctors neutralized it. Fox, apparently, once he'd finished binding her arm, had been instrumental in delaying the onset until she'd been safe in Mistral. Her aura and careful surveillance would prevent her from losing use of her legs for any longer, but she needed to give her damaged flesh time to repair itself.

The suddenly stern eyes on her as they explained how staunchly they'd be in keeping an eye on her from now on were more than enough to impress seriousness of her injuries. Disappointed, and not a little sick to realize just how badly her body fared after the fiasco, Ruby could only meekly nod to the terms.

"I'm not going to be going on any assignments any time soon, am I?" Ruby said morosely, staring down at her hands. It wasn't really a question.

"Sorry Rubes," Sun patted her on the shoulder sympathetically.

Her shoulders slumped. Suddenly, she just wanted to go back to sleep.

"It's not all that bad, Ruby," Velvet said, obviously trying her best to cheer Ruby up. "You've got us here to keep an eye on you while you recover! Coco, Fox and Yatsuhashi are happy to stay in Mistral, so I won't be going anywhere."

Ruby's smile was weak but genuine as Sun joined in, happy to be finished with the business of laying out Ruby's various misfortunes and moving on to the healing process. Soon enough though she could feel herself sinking deeper into her sheets, heavy weights on her eyelids as she listened to the two huntsmen banter with each other.

"We'll wake you up later, Ruby," Velvet promised, chocolate brown eyes still filled with relief to see her awake and _okay_. "There are a few people who need to talk to you, but that can wait. Just get some rest."

Ruby couldn't find anything wrong with that. Happier, and feeling content under the supervision of her two caretakers, she easily felt herself drifting off to sleep once more.

X_0_X

It was several weeks before Ruby was able to get her cast off. They were some of the longest of her entire life, as she was forced to spend the vast majority of her time confined to her bed.

Between Sun and Velvet, she had all the care she could ever need while she recovered from her injuries. It was thanks to them that she was healing as well as she was, however slow the process.

They were one of the few bright spots Ruby had during those torturously long days.

Before, she'd been weak as a kitten and would spend most of her time asleep. That wasn't so bad, since she was hardly awake to feel the lingering pain of her hurts in the times where her painkillers would begin to wear off.

Better, she wouldn't have to spend hours staring at her ceiling in a vain attempt to find _anything_ interesting hidden in the rafters. Reading got old after the fourth day. Television interested her not at all.

Nowadays she could more or less make the transition from bed to wheelchair (Sun or Velvet still kept an eye on her though, just in case), and her aura wasn't quite as strained trying to repair her body, so there was some little bit of freedom to enjoy there.

But it was still incredibly frustrating.

No walking on her own, doctor's orders. Fine. It wasn't like her legs could support her anyways.

No picking up anything with her bad arm either. Well, it was in a cast, wasn't it? It could use the rest.

Could she prepare her own food? Of course not! She could barely get out of bed without passing out, to say nothing about walking unaided. At least she got breakfast in bed every morning. And lunch. And dinner!

She couldn't even relieve herself independently, still needed help with that! And wasn't _that_ just humiliating! Velvet was the very soul of compassion, but sweet fucking Dust Ruby wanted to _scream_ every time that painful, embarrassing request came up. The constraints of her recovery were just… so…!

She tried to find silver linings, if not for her own sanity than for Sun and Velvet's sakes. They were so patient with her – and Ruby appreciated it! – but she just could not stand having to sit still for so long.

Soon, they'd remind her, counting down the days until she would get her cast removed, and Ruby would subside for a little while. It was _some_ freedom, even if she resented her inability to move around under her own power.

Soon enough she would have her legs checked out, and if the skin regenerated without any complications ("and there's not reason to think there will be any at this point!") she'd have those unwrapped as well.

Soon. Soon. _Soon_ meaning another month, at least! That wasn't soon!

Then! Then would come the arduous weeks of retraining her atrophied limbs to carry her. Another few months right down the drain.

And then… What then?

_Dark shapes, BONE white against void black, BLOODY crimson streaking through their shadowy forms. They were COMING for her. They were endless. Turn from one, face another. Exploding from the ground. Busting through the rafters. The walls were NOTHING to their strength – what they did not break they slipped around, seeped through like some demonic plague. _

_She RAN. _

_Crimson irises amidst an aura of GOLD – a spear erupting from her gut. Pinning her. This wasn't what she wanted! They stared into her SOUL, accusing. Her body _jerked_ with each arrow piercing her flesh, the ICY blue manacles wrapping around her wrists further imprisoning her. _

_She could only whimper: "I'm sorry… Sorry… Sorry…" _

Her dreams – her nightmares – were more vivid than ever before.

More than once she'd snapped awake, heart pounding freakishly fast and skin pale and clammy, and she'd be transported back to that moment. The roof above her head was a cage in that way. The architecture was of exactly the same make as Horikiri's, so for a few split seconds between sleep and consciousness she would convince herself that it was a _different_ roof over her head, that she could turn and see the rubble around her, wait and hear the CRASH of the Colossus into the cliffside…

Sun was often right there to calm her down and help her through the intermittent panic attacks that would often seize her. When he wasn't, Velvet was there and quickly learned how best to talk Ruby down.

The rabbit faunus was very philosophical about the matter: "You had a very traumatic experience, Ruby," she'd say to her in hushed tones, stroking her hair. "It's not just your body that needs to recover. You just need to give it time."

Ruby would listen to the words in silence, burying her face deeper into her friend's warmth, and try to ignore the nagging doubt in the back of her mind. Would she ever recover? Truly?

There was still no word from the three teams who'd claimed the assignment to kill the Colossus, either. She had nightmares about that too.

On that first day the nine huntsmen had squeezed themselves into her room in the late evening, their sodden coats weighing down the rack next to her door. Winter was in full swing, and a blizzard had overtaken the city, blanketing it in thick snow. At her request her painkillers had been delayed so that she could answer their questions perfectly lucid, without any errors or mistakes – and without falling back asleep.

Three teams, each individual looking just rugged and professional enough to get the job done. Ruby had recognized a few of them by name – and judging by the tiny smiles or respectful nods, she was remembered too – and the rest by sight. On the whole they'd not forgone their weapons, letting her get a good look at the arsenal being brought to bear against the Ancient.

She'd counted three swords of varying sizes, a battleax fit to cleave an Ursa in two, two Dust mages with belts of powdered Dust at the ready and smaller daggers to fall back on, a pike, a mechanized chainsaw, and a hulking flamethrower painted an eye-watering fluorescent orange.

The eyesore's wielder was barely five feet tall but incredibly bulky, and it was he who'd taken over leadership of the small coalition. She'd remembered from a few late nights spent in the local pub that his name was Sully, and that he was a terrible singer.

Ruby had stared at the huntsman and his weapon from the moment he thundered into her room, steel-toed combat boots and heavy armor clattering and shined to a bright finish. "What're you lookin' at there?" he'd demanded in a good-natured growl through a huge, bushy beard. "Do I look like some sneaky little ninja to you? Stealth's for pansies – I don't bother with it."

And Ruby had laughed – painfully – taking an instant liking to the man as he plopped himself into a chair and waited for the others, eyes narrow and trained on her the entire time.

They'd talked late into the night, Ruby retelling her story no less than three times to the huntsmen. Each time they had new, increasingly pointed questions, and Ruby was quickly able to deduce a rough idea of what plans they were concocting. Then she would offer counter-ideas – suggestions, tactics, theories, and they in turn would grill her for more information.

Sun disappeared from the room an hour into the conversation, soon returning cold and bedraggled with three steaming boxes of pizza for them all to share. Velvet joined in, bustling around with pitchers of water and plastic cups.

It had been… fun, in a way. Engaging. While the huntsmen were never shy in correcting her when she over or underestimated their abilities, there was a respect for her own opinion that she appreciated. She _was_ young, but she was also talented and cunning in a way she seldom got to express outside of pub-time recountings.

Here were people who respected the Reaper and all that moniker had come to mean among Mistral's huntsmen circles.

It had to come to an end at some point, though. The last of the huntsmen filed out of the door just a few minutes after midnight, leaving Ruby well and truly exhausted. Her caretakers fussed over her like mother hens once they learned that her legs had begun to itch and throb sometime a few hours before – apparently Ruby was far more of a natural stoic than she'd thought.

She'd quickly fallen asleep and didn't wake up until mid-afternoon on the next day.

The teams departed on their mission the day after that, which had been twenty-six days ago.

There was still no word from them, nor from the neighboring villages where they were supposed to check in either after completing the mark or in the event of their failure. The Mistral Council was taking no chances with the Ancient and had built up a heavy, temporary military presence in each of the outlying settlements near its haunt.

Were they still alive? Missions of this scale, with Grimm of this caliber, often ran long and involved more than one plan of attack. If a frontal assault failed, it was common to fall back on ambush tactics, and any number of increasingly elaborate follow-up strategies. The question haunted Ruby, though. What if they failed? What if she hadn't been able to give them enough information? What if she missed something?

After waking from yet another nightmare, this one featuring a gruff, heavily bearded face blackened in a pained rictus, Velvet tried to soothe her. "What-ifs aren't going to help anything Ruby," the faunus whispered into her sleep-tousled hair. "You've just gotta have a little faith. You gave them everything they needed, let them do their part."

"But what if—"

Velvet shushed her. "No more what-ifs."

"But—"

"_Ruby."_

And that was that, or it should have been. Her anxiety was not so easily dismissed and lingered as the minutes passed and her pulse quieted.

"…I feel like I let them down," Ruby whispered, voicing the darkest thoughts her nightmares dredged up from her mind.

"You didn't." Velvet's voice was steel. "You were strong and brave, and you gave them everything they needed and more."

"…You really think that?" Ruby wished her voice wasn't so pitifully small.

"I do." And those warm, strong arms squeezed her tighter, and Ruby drew on that strength to banish her fears to the back of her mind. If Velvet believed it, then she could too – at least until the nightmares returned to resurrect those fears once more.

Before she went back to sleep, Velvet spoke to her from the doorway. "Do you need anything else from me?"

Ruby smiled at her, the special, shy one she reserved for her closest friends when she really wanted to get her sincerity across. "Just what you and Sun are doing already."

"Of course."

X_0_X

'…_An's doing great – she's going to graduate from Signal Academy soon enough. There's just a few final examinations she needs to pass before they clear her. As always, she's having trouble with her weapon forms since there are so few references – those notes by Qrow you forwarded were a great help to her by the way – but she's consistently up to the standards required to graduate, and hopefully to get into Beacon as soon as the Spring term begins._

_Anyways, we're looking forward to hearing from you again Ruby. We're thankful every day that you're alright after your ordeal – I hope you know that should you ever need us we'd be happy to make the journey over to see you. The same goes for Jaune, if he hasn't said it already in his letters._

_Anyways, please don't be a stranger! We'd love to hear back from you soon enough. An's been clamoring to hear from her godmother, and we're sure she would love to brag (yet again) about 'how much ass she's been kicking' since last you wrote. And of course, we hope that you have a speedy recovery._

_With love,_

_-Lie & Nora Valkyrie'_

Ruby set the letter down in her lap with a soft smile on her face. While Ren's formal touch was all over the letter, she could feel Nora's bubbly personality shining through the ramblings and small bits and pieces of stories just waiting to be told.

It was the second letter she'd received from the couple. The first had arrived while she was still too weak to pick up a pen and write a response, and too prone to exhaustion to properly dictate to Sun and Velvet. Without the CCT in Vale, communications between the continents was still restricted to what could be delivered through the postal service, which was still slow and cumbersome despite having a decade to modernize itself.

It would only be a few more months before communications would be restored at least – the tower was nearing completion after six years of slow, laborious effort.

She'd already sent her reply a week ago, so the two had apparently crossed each other mid-flight. Jaune's letter – so hastily written it had taken her ten minutes to fully decipher the chicken-scratch – followed their first by only a few days.

He was such a mother-hen normally that Ruby was surprised it was the only one he'd sent.

'_I guess teaching keeps him too busy to fuss' _she thought with some amusement. They'd all come a long way over the years…

Ruby leaned back in her wheelchair with a sigh. Not far enough to overbalance herself – lesson learned there, her arm complained for _days_ after that – but enough to let her soak in the sun's rays more fully.

It was a quiet winter's day. After the initial blizzards passed, Mistral had been treated to just the perfect blend of sun and cold for the season. Blue skies overhead, a thick carpet of snow on each and every bush, tree, and rooftop in the city. Out here, relaxing on one of the city's many terraces, Ruby could briefly forget the village in flames, or instead picture it quenched and cozily restored.

Sun napped behind her on a bench, snuggling into his heavy woolen jacket. For someone born to the sands and heat of Vacuo, he'd taken to Mistral's winters like a native. Perhaps it was the lack of wind chill that day. Or the simple glory of icy-blues and whites on the grey stone of the mountains and terracotta tones of the city's tiled rooftops. Ruby found each appealing in its own right.

Idly, she flexed her fingers, working the atrophied muscles with practiced determination. Build back that strength, and she'd be past the first hurdle of her recovery. That's what the therapist had told her when she'd begun their work together.

Then Ruby perked up, hearing footsteps approaching with purpose. She recognized the gait to be Velvet's – just fast enough to match her bouncy well of energy, measured enough to belay her status as a huntress and a warrior. Sun shook himself blearily from his nap, catching the same sound.

"Ruby! Sun!" Velvet shouted joyfully, noticing their attention.

"What's up Velvet?" Ruby asked, slightly taken aback by the emotion. The rabbit faunus skidded to a halt beside her, not even winded after jogging three blocks and the flight of stairs leading up from Ruby's home on the level below.

Velvet's eyes danced with excitement. "They're back!"

They? _Oh!_

"You mean…?" Ruby trailed off, needing to be sure but hesitant to be proven wrong.

"Yes! A little worse for wear – they've got a few broken bones, some cuts, a lot of bruises, and I think one of them had their weapon destroyed," Velvet rattled off, eyebrows scrunching as she ran through the list. "But they're all alive!"

"Oh," Ruby blinked. Suddenly, it felt like she was floating. She grabbed the armrests on her wheelchair, needing something solid to anchor her. A wide smile crept onto her face unbidden. "That's… oh, that's good."

"It's great!" Sun laughed, leaping to his feet and dancing a happy-silly jig.

Ruby felt weight lifting from her shoulders. They were alright! The mission went okay! "The Colossus?"

"Dead," Velvet's smile turned somewhat vicious, but Ruby could forgive that. Part of her reveled in knowing that the beast from her nightmares was now banished to whatever hell the Grimm went to when they died. The rest… relief.

"I think we should celebrate!" Sun suggested brightly.

"A party?" Velvet perked at the idea.

"Some good food, music, invite the huntsmen of the hour – burn off all those bad vibes for good and let them know how we feel, you know?"

The two huntsmen looked at Ruby as one. They were getting to be eerily similar to one another in that way. "What do you think, Ruby?"

What did she think? She was floating! The Colossus was dead! Dead! And the teams were alive! She could only stare at them both, still largely poleaxed by the news for a few seconds, before she shook herself out of it. Celebrate? She smiled.

"That sounds like a great idea!"

X_0_X

Needless to say, the huntsmen were thrilled by the offer to celebrate their victory. Still riding high from the residual adrenaline of the final confrontation, many of them immediately pitched in to help gather together the local community and get the festivities moving.

Sun and Velvet hadn't expected this, so the party was quickly moved to the pub where the barkeep was happy to accommodate them and to finally visit with Ruby after weeks of no contact (she hadn't realized he cared so much – that had been a moment of holding back sudden tears).

It was a night of revelry, to say the least. Sully was quick to draw Ruby into a massive hug – leaving her gasping and looking to his team to rescue her from the prison of muscle, sweat, and the aromatic scent of lighter fluid.

They wryly toasted her misfortune and left her to their leader.

Later, and five tankards of beer deep into his cups, she managed to wheedle the full story of the Ancient's fall from him, as the other huntsmen were all away chatting with friends elsewhere in the pub.

"The beastie was a bitch tah put down, and fought harder'n any Grimm I've ever encountered," the huntsman boasted loudly for everyone to hear, his voice slurred from too much drink. "But it was nothing to Ol' Bessie!"

"Bessie?" Ruby asked, hiding a smile.

"Bessie! She's my…" Sully paused, before turning indignant. "Bessie? _Bessie?_ Ya don' know who Bessie is, girlie?!" He tapped the fluorescent monstrosity at his feet – like most huntsmen he'd refused to go without it even for a celebration. "She's only the foremost in Vacuoan military technology, the most powerful heavy ordinance flamethrower available on the market!"

"Why Bessie, though?"

"W-w-pfft!" he spluttered for a moment, then muttered in a much quieter, more subdued voice, "It's me mother's name – but don't you go tellin' her that, you hear!"

Ruby smirked, turning to the weapon and curtsying as gracefully as she could, trapped in her wheelchair as she was. "Charmed."

That seemed to mollify Sully. "Anyways, our first couple of frontal assaults didn't do much more than knock some o' the rust off o' the beastie's armor – good job on breaking that plate, by the way, can't imagine how much force you put behind that spear to splinter it like you did – so we switched tactics and started going after them vines it had buried everywhere."

Ruby nodded. Their prior meeting had revealed that most of their group was predominately landlocked, preferring durability, resilience, and sheer force to agility and speed. They had means of moving around when necessary – no huntsman survived long without some amount of mobility – but it was seldom a first response. Removing the Colossus' means of controlling the battlefield would have been the smartest choice when force proved to not be enough.

"Took us a few weeks to manage that. Had to learn how to bait 'em out without drawing too many Grimm. Turns out dropping a few explosives into the ground and letting 'em detonate is enough to piss the big bugger off."

Unsubtle but workable. Ruby nodded along.

"After that it was just cornering the bastard in the ruins and dropping explosives on it till it ran out of juice," Sully took a massive draft of beer, emptying his mug. "Colossi draw their strength from the earth," he muttered, suddenly quiet. "So, once it was cut off from its network, it couldn't regenerate nearly as fast. Could have killed it quick-like up close, but we'd already had enough o' that. And a good thing we did too – maybe it didn't regenerate as fast, but it still nearly put a few of us in the ground when the explosives ran out and we went to finish it off."

Her smile waned as he lingered in that moment, the mood in their tiny pocket of space dying. Ruby didn't know what to say - she knew that weary look in his eyes. The memory of pain – or pain near-missed – carefully hidden below the surface was one she saw in the mirror each morning.

Nevertheless, it rankled her fiercely. Someone with such an open spirit didn't deserve being left to their thoughts. Ruby wouldn't let it last if she could help it.

"Hey," she tried kindly, grasping his shoulder and giving it a shake. "You did it, you got out alright. Bessie wouldn't want you moping, would she?"

Her broke out of his funk instantly, blinking at her like a stupefied owl, before grinning. "No kiddin' she wouldn't!" Sully roared, back to his old self so fast Ruby felt a touch of whiplash. Guffaws poured from him as he immediately engaged her in a dizzying flurry of banter and ribbing.

And that was the end of that. Ruby tried to keep up with the huntsman's keen wit (somehow sharper for all the drinks he imbibed) but her thoughts lingered against her will on the darkness she'd seen in him.

Soon enough though, he picked up on her mood and, with a disarmingly sympathetic smile, stood up and loudly stomped across the room to challenge another patron to a drinking contest. Ruby was left to quietly watch the festivities with a glass of ice water (doctor's orders, no alcohol) and her thoughts.

The other patrons left her to her quietude, the Reaper blending into the background as just one more in the crowd.

So much laughter – so much good cheer. Sully drank his opponents under the table despite the already considerable dent he'd put into the bar's stock. An oily-haired Atlesian huntress tittered and sang tipsy renditions of Vacuoan shanties, face pink and eyes glittering like gemstones. Another huntsman tried to join in, throwing a beefy arm around the singer's shoulder, but she deftly hooked a heel behind his ankle and sent him tumbling to the floor.

The laughter shook the rafters, the flowing taps already fast at work to paint the world a blur. There were no hard feelings, just lighthearted mockery at the victim's expense. The sheepish reveler accepted his lumps with grace, however, and received a sloppy kiss on the cheek for his troubles.

Why?

'_Heh. Alcohol's the best cure for bad vibes, kid.'_

Her own smile turned brittle.

When conversation and tall tales turned inevitably to the two huntsmen who hadn't escaped the village, Ruby feigned exhaustion and discreetly caught Velvet's attention, asking to be taken home.

Sometime in the early hours of dawn, she still lay awake thinking about the other huntsmen. What qualities did they have that let them… _let go_ like that? Was it the company? The occasion?

…The drink?

…

No. Happiness was not in the bottom of a bottle, she was certain of that much.

Ruby disliked the part of her that was envious of those people and their debauchery. They could disconnect, shelve the memories and move on.

Ruby marveled that Sully – a huntsman pushing forty and obviously experienced enough to have seen more than his share – could so easily brush off his demons with only the lightest of encouragement. Even before the debacle that was her last assignment, coming so close to so much wanton destruction left painful scars on her psyche; ones she still struggled to live with. And more, she knew that his story omitted plenty, despite his healthy boasting to the contrary.

Sully talked a big game of his teams' strength and his prowess with 'Bessie,' but there had been more than one frontal assault to begin with, each a failure. He'd spoken of learning the Colossus' tricks and how to bait its vines to the surface, but nothing of how many times that must have failed, of the slow, creeping poison that they delivered, nor the primal terror of the earth erupting in a shower of flying dirt, wood, and stone.

And if they'd engaged the Colossus at any point, they would have seen the village and the horrific flames – probably long quenched by now. The broken settlement. The rictus faces. Clarent embedded deep within the Colossus' chest.

Had they found Bai? Reed? Some in the group had been their friends. She'd heard pieces of stories earlier that night, before she left; the toasts to two good huntsmen cut down before their time. Had they found their weapons, brought them back? Or had they left them their to rot with the murdered village?

The thought of all those people lying there without so much as a grave or someone to give them their last rites lingered on her mind. They deserved so much more than to be forgotten and left to the elements, like so much refuse…

It was all she thought about that night, her good mood fully evaporated by dawn.

X_0_X

The change overnight did not go unnoticed by her caretakers. Ruby couldn't even muster a smile for them that morning, shadows dimming her bloodshot eyes. As she stared into the mirror that morning, a steaming cup of coffee beside her courtesy of Velvet, Ruby barely recognized her reflection. Someone older and more careworn than she was familiar with looked back.

Long, spiky raven locks spilled over her shoulders. At the tips they gradated softly to crimson, some quirk of her mother's genetics manifesting itself in yet one more strange way. She'd never really loved her hair, keeping it short for the majority of her life until she'd moved to Mistral. Here though, it had been easy to put off the frequent trims she used to get, and slowly, it inched its way down her spine.

It was in her way now, ruffled and messy from tossing and turning all night long. She rummaged through the vanity for one of her hair ties and pulled the tangled mass all back, tying it into a simple ponytail. It looked more controlled that way, less liable to distract or get in her eyes.

The face uncovered was sharper than it once was. Partially the result of a lean lifestyle, spent mostly out in the wilds where rations and what little she could forage made up her diet. Her assignments came with few perks past the occasional meal furnished by the outlying villages, and without the constant influx of sweets she'd lost the last of her residual baby fat. No makeup, of course. Nothing that would run or smear or itch if she didn't clean it up properly.

It was a mature face. Not quite lined with age, nor speckled with sun spots, though a few pale, silvery scars from the Beowolf's claws did trace diagonally from her temple to her cheekbone. It should have been the face of a woman in her prime, but the eyes told their own story. Through them, she stared into the soul of one tired and weighed down by her experiences.

A frame of steel supporting a fragile mask; a delicate flower hiding its wilt. She was withered.

"Who are you?" Ruby whispered, seeing in this woman the same qualities she'd seen strangle her father over the years. She was someone Ruby would normally stop and share a kind word with; pick her up, give her a hug and help her on her way. _'How can I help myself, though?'_

"Ruby?"

She didn't turn. Instead, she waited, and a wearied man joined the woman in the reflection, his haggard features and ever-so-slightly-hunched shoulders distracting from the deep blue pools of compassion directed at her.

Who was this man, who looked so defeated? Ruby leaned into the calloused hand on her shoulder, feeling lost.

'_Who are _we?_'_

The mirror, of course, did not answer.

"I'm worried about you."

"I'm worried about me too, Sun."

"No, like…" Sun sighed. A flash of anguish passed over the reflection's face. "Ruby, seeing you like this… you're not you."

"What if this _is_ me, and I've just been pretending all this time?"

He scowled, a real seed of worry taking root in his expression. "The Ruby Rose I know isn't one to stay down for long. She's strong. Determined. Brave. She would never let anything stand in her way… or let an injury like this beat her."

'_Like the heroes in the stories!'_

'_Ruby… I think you have what it takes to be a good leader.'_

'_You know what they say: like mother, like daughter!'_

Ruby pulled away from his hand. Restless energy flared up within her… and feeling reckless she grabbed the vanity and pulled herself to her feet with a small grunt of effort. Her legs trembled beneath her, complaining just like she'd been warned they would.

The mirror was forgotten behind her. She couldn't stand to look at that woman any longer. "Yeah," she said. "Well, Ruby Rose is tired and scared, Sun, and she has no idea what she's doing."

She took a shaky step forward, but her balance quickly deserted her, and Sun grabbed her elbow to support her, mindful of the still-healing break.

Another step followed her stumble, then another, and soon she was crossing her room, every iota of her attention on just moving forward, away from the mirror and its reflection. The pain was meaningless, she convinced herself. Just one more obstacle. The leaden tendrils extending up her legs were just distractions.

She flung open the window once she finally reached the sill, letting the freezing air and light wash over her. Goosebumps rose immediately along her skin, but they were just one more thing to ignore.

Ruby breathed.

In... Out.

And the tension in her sickly frame slowly drained away. _This _was her reflection. This was what she would let in. Not that woman she'd seen looking back at her through haunted eyes. Not the woman pinched by trauma and fear. That woman was a specter, not even dying but very much deceased.

"Are you okay?"

Ruby closed her eyes. Warmth from the sun tickling her skin, tricking her body into thinking the cold was an illusion, instead of the other way around. Bracing, yet comforting at once.

Below her she could hear the bustling signs of a vibrant city in the throes of winter. Footsteps, voices raised in greeting and conversation. Smells muted by the snow drifted by, carried by the breeze. Wood smoke. Pine sap. Baking cookies set out to cool. The faintest whiff of incense.

Was this what Horikiri had been like? Just another Animan town, waking with the sun, hustling through the day's chores? Ruby could see a ball leaping high above one of the many tiled rooftops nearby – children playing some game only they could devise.

It was all so idyllic. "I don't know Sun," she admitted. "I really don't know anything anymore. Who I am, what I'm doing, any of it."

More breathing. Her lungs pinched with the cold. Ruby simply let it wake her up.

"I don't believe that."

Sun looped an arm around her shoulders, pulling her close. Ruby leaned into the warmth. "You're still the same person you've always been Ruby," he continued. "Life's dealt you a bad hand, sure. But you're still here trying to pick yourself back up. You might not know how to do it yet, but you know how to try."

"'Trying' is what makes me Ruby Rose?"

"You're always trying to make the world a better place. Even with the small things others forget about. _That's_ what makes you Ruby Rose."

She craned her neck to look him in the eyes but could find no lie. Only open, earnest sincerity and the fervent hope that she would understand.

Her heart swelled, and she squeezed his fingers, hoping that was enough to make him understand what she could not convey through mere words. Still… "I might be trying, but I don't know how to pull myself out of this, Sun."

"We're here for you while you figure it out. You could do it on your own, but you don't need to with us here."

But how long would that take? How could she ask them to stay with her for so long? Would they even?

…Yes, they would.

"You really mean that?"

Damnit, she wasn't a child, so why was her voice so fragile all of a sudden?

"Cross my heart, Rubes," Sun smiled at her even as she ducked her head to hide the wetness gathering in her stinging eyes. "We won't leave you alone in the dark."

It was just the sun and cold air, she'd been staring at the ceiling all night. She wasn't going to break down _again_.

A strong gust sent flurries of snow streaking through the air, rustling the rogue locks of her hair she'd missed pulling back with the rest. With it came a wave of relaxation and lightness. Not like she'd felt yesterday, but something she felt she might be able to hold onto this time.

"Thank you," she murmured.

"'Course! Now can you tell me what's been bothering you since last night?" Sun grinned unapologetically.

Ruby sighed. "Am I that obvious?"

"No," his lips quirked, taking on a rueful cast. "But I've got a lot of practice reading you. Whatever managed to kill your mood... it's important, and I want to help. Share the load, lighten the burden, and all that jazz."

The scent of jasmine was on the air, drifting down from the temple, high up on one of the city's upper levels. Ruby sighed. "…I was thinking about the village. All those people… do you think they were buried? Got their last rites?"

Sun blinked, and then his smile turned sad. He shook his head wonderingly. "Only you, Ruby… Now I feel like an asshole for not thinking of that myself."

"Hey," Ruby gave him a squeeze. "Don't be like that."

He stared out over the rooftops. "It's fine… just… yeah. You're right, they probably didn't. Maybe. I can ask around if you want. See if anyone knew them."

Incense…

"Do you think you could take me up to the temple?" she asked. "I think your idea is good too, but…" But maybe she could find strength somewhere she'd never thought to look before. If nothing else, it might ease the looming tide of guilt slowly strangling her.

It was a direction.

Sun understood. "I'll grab Velvet. Once you get dressed, we can head out as soon as you'd like."

X_0_X

The city of Mistral's temple to the God of Light was simple, but elegant.

A monk clad in simple grey robes cheerfully wheeled her past several fountains into the main courtyard where it was customary to offer worship. The roughly circular area was open to the sky, the sanctuary taking advantage of a natural crevice in the mountain. The grey rocky walls had been carefully widened and smoothed over with incredible patience, pillars added in for strength and stability and lanterns substituting for the sun where its light could not reach down.

In the summer, running water would stream through carefully planned channels in the rock into pools carved from the mountain itself, though right now they ran dry. Situated seemingly at random around the sanctuary were tablets inscribed with the elaborate characters of Mistral's old tongue, protected from the elements in their own miniature shrines.

What wasn't naturally cut from the rock itself was either constructed from simple wood, paper, and terracotta tiling, and there were plenty of areas for plant life and greenery to take root. Among other specimens, several ancient beech trees were lovingly sculpted into the architecture of the shrine, their intricate root systems weaving through the stone, substitute for any, more elaborate decorations.

More channels were cut into the stone floor to collect rainwater and divert it further down the mountain where it could be collected into one of the city's many cisterns. They were simple affairs, pragmatic and efficient. With winter in full swing, a light dusting of snow had managed to find its way inside. It was already being swept away by a few acolytes.

The clear water of the main pool was perfectly clean, kept from freezing by the braziers burning every few dozen feet. Several trays of incense were lit all around it. They lent the shrine a hazy, soothing air, and Ruby felt a little of the tension she felt as a stranger to this place slip away.

There was a simplicity here she could appreciate, she realized, as she knelt on the prayer mat the monk provided her. All uncomplicated tones of grey and brown, accented by the splashes of color nature provided… A serenity, inherent to this sacred spot. For a moment Ruby let it fill her, breathing slow and deep.

She lingered amidst the peace of this place, but the moment soon passed, and Ruby slowly opened her eyes. Her offering – a bundle of meadow sage, perhaps not as fresh as it ought to be, but all she could find at the market this time of year – lay before her, as well as her own tray for burning incense.

Her legs twinged beneath her, but it was a distant sound to what it had been earlier. They were healing quickly – she would soon be able to start rebuilding the muscle she'd lost.

She wasn't quite sure what she ought to do. The head monk had already assured her that they would conduct the proper funerary rites for the deceased of the village, but that left her with little for herself to work with. What could she say to a god she didn't believe in, of a faith she'd never known?

Ruby wasn't religious, and never had been. Taiyang was at best distant from his heritage, and Ruby had been too young to take in whatever teachings her mother had seen fit to give her as a child.

Awkwardly, she lit the end of one the incense stick and licked her lips. "Ah, hello," she said unsurely.

Naught but the gentle swish of a broom on stone responded.

"Right," Ruby muttered. "Um. I guess you already know who I am if you're really out there, but it's proper to introduce myself, right?"

Silence.

She cringed. "My name is Ruby Rose. Daughter of Taiyang Xiao Long and Summer Rose… I'm a huntress. I make a living trying to help people and protect the world from the Grimm."

That felt better. Talk about what you're familiar with.

"That's what I'm good at, killing Grimm. Aside from that I don't feel like it's a long list…" before she might have included 'helping people,' but she wasn't quite comfortable with claiming that at the moment.

"I'm not much of a believer myself," she admitted. Hopefully that wouldn't count against her prayer too much. "It never seemed important to me. I still don't see much point in praying for things to happen when I can try and do them myself." That was the truth. "But maybe, despite that, you'll listen to a stranger asking for help."

Her offering rose lazily from the tray, wandering lines of pungent smoke joining the scenery. Unplanned, random, yet strangely at one with its environment. Ruby wrung her hands, trying to keep her eyes locked on one spot.

She didn't feel at one with anything.

"A lot of people died at Horikiri. You'd probably know, 'cause, well. Yeah…" Ruby cringed again. "I fought with two of them. Bai Long and Reed Bryce." Stocky and the Knight. For a short while, her saviors and comrades. "They were believers. I asked a few of their friends about it. Apparently, they came here pretty often."

Would they be here now? Ruby wasn't familiar with their concept of the afterlife, and what it meant for peoples' souls once they were gone. For all she knew there was a special realm for departed souls. Or they were reborn into someone else. Or they could be wandering alone across the face of Remnant…

Well that was a depressing thought. She hoped it was something more pleasant than that.

"I don't know what I should say to have you grant them your blessing, but please guide and protect them, wherever they are," Ruby said. "They deserved so much more than what they got… them, and all the people in that village…"

All those innocent people…

Ruby had no more words to give, then, so her prayer ended as awkwardly as it began.

She was back to feeling like a stranger; a trespasser on sacred ground pretending to know what she was doing here.

"Ah… thanks for hearing me out," she finished, feeling like a fool.

She looked up at the monk from earlier, the older woman leaning against the wall in calm repose.

She read the plea written in Ruby's expression and walked over. Her disquiet was loud enough to disrupt some of the tranquility of the shrine. "I see you are finished," she observed, eyeing her uncomfortable posture.

"I think so."

The monk frowned. "Do you not feel at peace, huntress?"

Ruby opened her mouth, but a rush of emotion filled her – a torrent of boiling water rising beneath her skin – and she couldn't speak around the sudden lump in her throat. Nor could she meet the monk's eyes.

What would she see within them? Pity, as she so little desired? Disdain, as she felt she deserved?

_Bloody CRIMSON pools boring into her, the molten BURN of hot steel in her gut as lancing, gleaming arrowheads sank one-by-one into her flesh. HATE. That was their message. For what she'd DONE. For what she FAILED to do._

What… was she doing?

The rush of discomfort sent her pulse into a pounding staccato.

She was a trespasser in this place, unworthy to intercede on behalf of those people… This was all wrong. The gods were silent – was it just a sign of her unworthiness, or more? How could anyone feel comfort after praying here? How could _she?_

_What was she even doing?_

Something must have translated in her expression, for the monk quickly sensed Ruby's distress, and lowered herself to kneel beside her, comfortable despite resting directly on the cold stone.

"Your body speaks for you," she said crisply, calmly. "Your emotions are writ on your face as clearly as if you'd shouted them from the terrace. What troubles you?"

Ruby kept her eyes lowered, wrestling with the conflict within her. The voice she replied with was strangled. "I don't know what I'm doing here."

"You came to pray for your friends, did you not? Though they are no longer with us, I am sure that they would be grateful for your concern."

"Yes, but…" Everything she wanted to say seemed inadequate. It was another mark on the long list of things eating at her.

"I don't know!" she whispered, pressing her face into her hands. She shuddered as her heartrate climbed further. Oh Dust… not now…

"Hm." The monk watched her for a long moment, before a wistful smile crossed her lined face. "Well then; Ruby, was it?"

"…Yes?"

"Would you care to humor an old woman for a little while?"

Her heart pounded in her chest, painful, but not beyond recall. Yet. "Sure."

The woman's expression did not change, but she resettled herself, crossing her legs into a lotus position and indicating Ruby do the same. Ruby mirrored her; eyes screwed shut with everything focused inward. This was a distraction – the kind monk was trying to distract her from her turmoil, but it wasn't working.

"I'd like you to breathe with me a while," the woman said.

Her chest was tight, but Ruby complied.

**Thump.**

The monk breathed deeply; long, relaxed drafts of breath that filled the lungs. Ruby matched her, careful not to inhale too much of the incense smoke (it would be humiliating to choke on it).

"Now," the monk intoned softly, her eyes drifting shut. "I understand that you are merely here to pray on behalf of your friends, so I will spare you the spiritual component of this exercise. My faith teaches us to revere balance, and it is very obvious that you've lost yours."

**Thump.**

In… Out… In… Out…

"Allow yourself to feel," the monk said, her voice at one with the environment. Distinct from the silence, but not intrusive. Very different from the throb of Ruby's pulse growing in her ears, drowning out all else with increasing intensity. "Do not discard your emotions. Do not seek battle with them. They are a part of you and will make themselves heard in their own way before they are content."

**Thump.**

_In_… Out… _In_… Out…

Ruby's emotions roiled within her like a hostile sea. She felt a small sense of security – she was intimately familiar with this kind of exercise, after all, which counted for something – but it was small in the face of the looming wave of pain and doubt hanging over her.

This wasn't a panic attack. She was _calming down._ Breathe. This _wasn't_ a panic attack.

**Thump.**

"Picture yourself as a blossom riding on the face of the water. Where the waters rise, you shall follow. Where they fall you shall sink." The monk's voice overlaid her internal conflict. "No matter how the waters roil, you shall float along, until at last they lose their fury and become calm once more."

The monk paused, then her voice whipped out, sharp as a lash. "_Breathe_, huntress."

**Thump.**

In… Out… I-iin….

_CRIMSON eyes boring into her so ANGRY you promised the Colossus loomed above her like a vast brooding mountain crushing her an avalanche of FURY rolling over her rocks blunt and sharp digging into her skin breaking her body bones pulverized and why couldn't you do more you think that's enough you RAN—_

Ruby's breath hitched, her lungs burning.

_She turned and saw the VILLAGE in flames licking the walls of the ravine hundreds of souls lost their faces stared at her burning EYES faces contorted why they lay there strewn about casually but their eyes why the Colossus laughed at her an avalanche of sound and dark amusement why its eyes bored into her mocking her this is what you FAILED to stop why she could see into its SOUL the same hatred she saw in all Grimm but they were there too why they were crowding her so many faces so many eyes all CRIMSON SHE COULDN'T BREATHE!_

A stern voice and two strong hands shaking her shattered the vision: "Ruby! Breathe!"

Ruby sucked in a huge lungful of air and her world tilted, everything coming back to her in a flood of too many sensations. Her lungs burned, her heart hammered away in her chest like a hummingbird's, her head swam as her brain finally reclaimed vital oxygen.

She'd crumpled in on herself at some point, her ribs and stomach and all the abused muscles still labored by the process of healing screaming at her. Only the monk's strong hands on her shoulders kept her from pitching forward into the cold stone.

Those were secondary concerns.

Ruby gasped and choked on each new inhalation. Through vision tinged grey Ruby, saw a phantom version of the temple, drained of its colors, sights and smells muddled, as though through a fish-eyed lens.

Without warning, she was sucked back down into the maelstrom.

_Their faces scowled at her, accusing. Stocky build, Mistrallan features sharpened in anger. _

"'_Make sure our sacrifice was not in vain, Ruby Rose!'" Bai snarled, his chest a pulped mess of flesh and blood and bone. "Where were you?!"_

Ruby gasped, eyes welded shut.

"_I gave them what they needed to avenge you!" she shouted, tears running down her face in the vision and in reality. _

In…! Out… In…! Out… She was a blossom on the water…

"_Too late," Reed growled thunderously._

In…! Out…! In…! Out…! No matter how the waters roiled…

"_Coward," they spoke in eerie unison, eyes a bloody crimson ripped straight from her nightmares. "You RAN. You left us behind. You broke your word."_

In…! Out… In… Out…! She would float along…

"_I did my best," Ruby whispered._

In… Out… In… Out… She could feel cool hands rubbing her temples, a soothing voice above her, a strong presence unwavering.

"_Not enough." The huntsmen echoed, voices suddenly sad. "Never enough."_

In…! Out… In… Out…

_The bowman's blue eyes watched her mournfully, as did his partner and the multitude of presences that appeared around her. Why? Why us? Why now? Why? Ruby let her tears flow unabated, her heart ripping open anew as the victims of the tragedy crowded around her. Each a face, a life, a chance. Their bodies ripped and torn and defiled in their own ways, yet undiminished in their worth. _

"_I'm sorry," she cried thickly, giving in to the torrent of emotions consuming her. "I wish I could do more…"_

In… Out…

Her heart did not slow. The pain was still there, bright and searing. But instead of burning her to ash Ruby began to melt with it. A wall within her chest dissolved with her tears, and, tired of hurting so much, she curled into an even tighter ball and let them flow.

The visions passed, as did the memories of the burning village and its people. Ruby allowed herself to mourn their passing and bathe in the furious sorrow-shock-anger-horror-_frustration_… Everything was a thick, ugly mess within her, twisted into matted knots, nothing she was prepared to deal with – nothing _anyone_ was prepared to deal with…!

Why? _Why?_ What was _the point_ of it all, of such senseless tragedy?

The monk – Ruby would need to ask her name after this – was a calming presence while she sniffed and hiccoughed through the last dregs of her attack.

Ruby wished that Velvet or Sun were there; they knew best how to calm her. But the kind woman was gentle, and that was enough. Her cool fingers carded through Ruby's hair like Velvet's, and her strong presence was like a lighthouse guiding her to harbor, similar to Sun's.

Eventually she asked a few gently probing questions, and Ruby found herself pouring her heart out, working through the nightmares in the back of her mind one by one.

"I feel responsible for what happened," she said with a watery voice. "I know I did my best, but if I had just been a little faster, maybe I could have done more. If I were more skilled, stronger, cleverer… maybe Bai and Reed would have survived."

Her voice became ragged. "It was _my_ plan that failed, even if it was Bai's choice to buy me time to escape."

"He would have been proud to know you survived, and that you continue to carry his legacy through your every action," the monk said calmly.

"Maybe." Ruby wasn't so sure. "And… I'm afraid to go back."

The monk's frown turned her face into a knot of wrinkles. "You hardly need to return to that place."

"No," Ruby shook her head, her heart squeezing in her chest in an echo of its earlier fit. "Out there. Hunting. Being a huntress again… How can I go back to that? I was terrified… I scared my friends half to death. I broke my body. I almost _died!_"

_Dust,_ what would have happened to Sun had she been any slower against the Colossus, or the Beowolves, or if CFVY had been even a minute later than they'd been? Or her other friends, so far away in Vale? Her death would hurt them all more than Ruby was even remotely comfortable contemplating.

It wasn't even a matter of a simple, single mission gone wrong. That was expected, and had even happened before.

But she'd seen her reflection in the mirror. Injuries and experiences the likes of which she'd endured were terrible things, but they were not responsible for all of she'd seen on that person's face.

That woman… Ruby didn't like her reflection. The person looking back at her from dimmed silver eyes was a specter she'd spent years denying she was becoming, and she wasn't comfortable with staying that way.

It was…

Everything she'd spent _years_ building and maintaining seemed to be crashing down around her and she couldn't hold it all in place. The life she'd built in Mistral was hers, and she'd spent so long cultivating it – herself, her friends, contacts, her reputation – how could it all turn to ash in such a short time?

The monk squeezed Ruby's shoulder sympathetically. "I can't claim to understand your experiences," she said, introspectively. She sounded unsure. "But I do believe that we determine our own paths… If you believe your place is no longer to be found as a huntress, then perhaps you could look elsewhere?"

Elsewhere?

"But what else could I do?" Ruby's voice was laced with more than a little despair. "I've dedicated my whole life to being a huntress. It's what I _chose_ to do… I don't know anything else."

"Life is full of choices," The monk countered. "If you aren't content with the ones you've made, choose something else. Failing that, try to transform the choices you've already made into something you can be content with."

"I don't know…"

And she didn't. What could she possibly do with herself if not continue to hunt Grimm?

Certainly, there were other professions – the likes of which filled by people like Kohroku and other public servants – but she didn't have the training, or the experience, and weren't her skills best served out in the field? The world _needed_ huntsmen. As many as possible, especially now. Lives depended on them. How many _more_ people would die because she was too afraid to return?

The monk gave her a little shake, pulling her from her thoughts.

"Ruby, from what I can see you have endured many trials that continue to test your character…" she closed her eyes, seeming to struggle with herself for a moment. "It is obvious you carry a great deal of pain, some of it painfully new, the rest old and poorly healed. If you would allow it, may I offer you some advice?"

"Please?"

"I believe you should seek healing," the monk said bluntly. "Hopefully after today you will find the beginnings of closure for your most recent ordeal, but you shouldn't stop there."

She smiled painfully, and Ruby saw the shadow of loss pass over her face as she drew on long-faded memories. A family member? A child, perhaps?

"You are obviously someone who values the welfare of others over your own." Pain, again, twisted the old woman's face. "Admirable, but you _must_ take care of yourself as well, lest your altruism burn you from the inside out. Find new ways to help people that don't require you destroy yourself in the process… you do others a great disservice otherwise."

"I… I guess." Ruby didn't know how to take that, so she stared at the icy blue ring of sky visible through the top of the sanctuary. At the clouds passing by, and the stonework. Anywhere but the eyes of the monk, which burned through her. "I wouldn't know where to even start though…"

"Try teaching," the monk offered, and the suddenness of the direction made Ruby look at her once more. There was a wry smile on her face.

"Or parenting," the monk continued. "Or some other job that puts you near young people. They have the most dramatic growing to do, and I've found it easier to grow myself when I'm surrounded by others doing the same. It's what I tell my younger monks to do when they start feeling stagnant."

Ruby bit her lip, a frown etching her face.

Teaching… Could she see herself doing that?

…It bore thinking about.

The monk seemed satisfied as Ruby pulled herself upright, patting her on the shoulder as she wiped away the last of the salt tracks on her cheeks with the back of her sleeve. Her legs ached fiercely – she would have to deal with her physician's stern glares and reprimands for her actions today – but overall, Ruby felt strangely refreshed by her outburst. Stuffy, tired, and embarrassed to have cried like a child in public but refreshed.

The monk had one last thing to say to Ruby as she helped her into her wheelchair. The old woman seemed settled, almost peaceful now, as if the shadow of whatever memories had plagued her had lifted.

Her calm grey eyes crinkled at the edges, at one with her smile.

"You will find your way if you seek it in earnest, Ruby. Look to your friends and loved ones to guide and comfort you. And remember that balance, like peace, is seldom easily won, nor easily kept."

X_0_X

The monk's – Padma's, she'd learned – advice stuck with Ruby the entire way home. Sun and Velvet immediately picked up on the signs of her panic attack, and Ruby was soon treated to the combined force of their overzealous fussing.

Needless to say, she was delivered directly to her home and sent straight to bed. What few protests she put up were swiftly silenced by a stern glare from Sun and the full, guilt-inducing watery-eyes-quivery-lip routine from Velvet. Ruby endured their concern with patience she probably wouldn't have possessed only the day before, but her heart wasn't really in putting up a fight for her personal autonomy at the moment anyways.

Teaching. Her? With her painfully mediocre grades, her failure to even graduate from her freshman year of Beacon Academy – her, Ruby Rose?

'_You're smarter than you give yourself credit for Ruby.' _The memory came unbidden to her mind. _'Maybe you're younger than all of us, but you've been keeping up just fine in everything but the academia. And skipping two years of interim classes is more than enough justification for _that_ gap in your knowledge.'_

She lay there, frozen for several long seconds, holding her breath. That voice, which she'd only heard in snatches of pleasant, idyllic dreams, or worse: mocking her from the depths of her nightmares.

Weiss…

'_No, that doesn't mean I'm letting you get out of your reviews! And that's no excuse for your atrocious penmanship either!'_

She did not allow herself to remember that voice.

…No clenching pain in her chest, no flash of unendurable grief…

It was just another part of the routine she'd maintained for years, hoping that time would dull the sharp edges of those shattered dreams. The ceaseless cycle of assignment, rest, and more assignments was broken only when Sun or Velvet or Coco or some other visiting friend dragged her away, or else during the occasional slip on her part.

…No shrieking Grimm, nor the pounding boom of canon fire…

Exhaustion and work kept the memories away. Of late, the pain of her past had been replaced with the horrors of her last assignment, but experience told her it would soon return to continue haunting her.

…No crunch of stone, whine of straining metal, no spreading pool of crimson, no streak of white playing over her vision in an echo of her nightmares…

None of it.

Right now, Ruby just felt tired, thinking of her partner. Her attitude. Her sass. Her dry humor, when it deigned to reveal itself… Her biting, yet elegant and aristocratic tones. A voice made and refined for singing…

Dust, Ruby missed her voice.

Surprising herself, and feeling oddly disjointed from reality, Ruby permitted herself to contemplate the monk's words.

She was _tired_.

It showed in so many ways she couldn't bear to ignore it any more than she could ignore the bruises, the broken bones, or the nightmares. Her dream of becoming a huntress had been realized, but it was the dream of the child she'd been, not the woman she was now.

With each passing minute she felt more certain of her earlier conclusion. She had to find something else – whether that was leaving behind her mantle or remaking it into something different, she had to do something.

She'd started down the road to healing from her recent hurts at the temple – no longer did those emotions weight so heavily on her soul, though their hurt still lingered – but were they the only scars she carried?

_Golden locks and lilac, the looming presence of despair and apathy palpable the moment she entered the room. _

_Was she really just giving up? _

'_Sometimes bad things just happen, Ruby… Just leave me alone.'_

Yang…

_Her hand on Blake's shoulder, eyeing her teammate's flattened cat-ears with deep concern. _

'_I really have no idea what I'm doing Ruby… All this time, I've convinced myself I've been doing the right thing, but I really don't know… Is what we're doing the best we can do for the world? Are we on the right path?'_

Blake…

_Rubble strewn, the crumbling edifice above her head a mountain waiting for the last of its roots to shatter, eager to entomb her, permanently, beneath it… she was deathly afraid. Dust clogged the scant air, and then – the copper-scented tang of spilled blood. _

'_No…' _

_She knew that hair, that sword. _

'_No…! Noononono! WEISS!'_

Ruby stared dully at the ceiling.

The memories were old… just thinking of them was a rusty knife in her breast, dragging across the vulnerability within.

But could she—

Could she heal from that? She was broken. Was there a point?

_Cold-cut sapphires boring into her, a face flushed with volatile rage, only matched by her own fury. It was her only defense against the freezing of her soul. And the shouting… _

'_You…! You heartless bitch! How could you say that, after all she did for us!'_

Her hands clenched and unclenched on the sheets. The disconnect was fading and the pressure in her ears was returned, but she could feel the epiphany at the tips of her fingers…

Could she really do it?

Outside, Ruby could hear the bustling of the city as late afternoon brought an early sunset and an unexpected wind chill. So many people going about their lives, some of them must have felt the same things she had – most of them, most likely, given the dangers Remnant posed. Surely, there was a chance for _her_ to fix herself?

Maybe. It was possible. Others had done it, surely – hundreds, thousands, tens of thousands of times. Why couldn't she? Why couldn't Ruby Rose do something, this _one_ thing, that plenty had proven possible? She could believe it was possible. She _did_ believe it.

…She_ did. _There was a chance.

But….

The brief, shining sense of elation she'd grasped faded like mist through her fingers, leaving her with questions.

What now? If she was to start down this road, not knowing where its end lay, where should she begin?

X_0_X

The morning dawned crisp and clear. When she walked into the bedroom with a tray of steaming food in hand, Velvet was greeted by a tired, but determined Ruby sitting at the windowsill.

"I want to go to Vale."

* * *

**I hope you enjoyed reading. Please leave a review with your thoughts! I'm not gonna lie, I haven't been feeling a ton of inspiration to write for The Last Rose recently - Volume 7's been a huge disappointment off the end of V6 (which I also wasn't a huge fan of) and it's been kind of a drag writing for RWBY without that buoying me. That being said, hearing your feedback does help me get in the mood to work on this project, so yours is very welcome! **


	5. Tabula Immunda

**Disclaimer: I don't own RWBY or its characters, I'm just playing in the sandbox.**

* * *

"_How do you keep going?"_

_The question was couched in a whisper, not intended for Ruby's ears, really. She felt it in her neck, where Weiss had pressed her face deep into the juncture of Ruby's parka, right next to the hot tears leaking through the fabric of her shirt. _

_It was a question Ruby didn't have an answer to, though she'd asked it of herself plenty of times before. _

"_Hey," she whispered, pulling back to wipe a few glossy tears away from Weiss' delicate face, though they were soon replaced. She put on a smile – shaky, _fragile_, but for the way Weiss' eyes fixated on her, swollen eyes wide and rapt and desperate, enough to suffice._

_She tried to make her words more genuine. "I know things look bad," she said, pushing a strand of white hair behind an ear. "And it hurts to keep going, but we've still got each other, alright? When this is all over, we'll work through it together, I promise. But right now, we've got to keep moving."_

"_I know!" Sweet Dust. Weiss' voice normally made Ruby thrum like the string of a guitar, but right now? The tremors shaking it to pieces broke her heart. "But… please Ruby… how?"_

_She tightened her hold, burying her face in Weiss' hair. What else could she say? "I've got you, that's how."_

…

_I once heard my parent's team described as three troubled people who relied exclusively on the fourth – their leader – to hold them together. Their combined strengths made them the most formidable team fielded in the entire history of Beacon. Any of the four kingdoms, really. They were smart, strong, talented, cunning, and brutally, _mercilessly_ effective, when it came to killing Grimm._

_But there's a vulnerability that comes with lynchpins and keystones and other things of that nature: when they're taken away, invariably_, inevitably_, the whole thing falls apart, with disastrous results. _

_It took me a long time to realize just how much of a lynchpin I was for my teams over the years. It took _them_ even longer to realize that I relied on them to the same degree. What is the lynchpin without something to bind together?_

_When they were gone…_

X_0_X

"You're going to hurt Sun."

Sage Ayana wasn't really in the mood for mincing words.

The dark shadows that ringed his leader's eyes that morning, the slumping posture – even Scarlet finding him at the breakfast table at five in the morning told his teammates all they needed to know about how well Sun was taking the news.

Sage was sickened by it all.

It was the last morning. Moving day. Ruby would be on her flight to Vale before the hour was up and they wouldn't see her again for months, if not years.

One proclamation – it seemed like a whim, really – and suddenly Sage's entire world was flipped upside down as his leader turned frantic, manic.

So it was with some satisfaction that he watched the dark-haired reaper flinch.

Sun was back at their house. Grabbing the keys Sage had forgotten on the ring. Velvet was with her team, moving the last of her things back where they belonged. Scarlet; off distributing the last of Ruby's unneeded possessions to her neighbors. Sage rankled at the minute trickle of satisfaction he felt when he saw Ruby realize they were alone. That wasn't someone he liked being very much. But it was who he would be now, if it put an early end to this mistake.

He could read wariness in her shoulders. They were hunched. Her hands balled up into fists. She was turned away from him, sitting at the lonesome dining table and pouring over the last of her remaining paperwork. Or pretending to.

"Sun is going to be back soon," she said lowly.

Avoiding the question. Sage not-quite-sneered. "He'll be gone long enough."

"…You hid the keys, didn't you?"

Underneath a few books on Scarlet's nightstand. His partner asked him to make his bed this morning; Sun wouldn't question it and wouldn't find the keys until Sage had had his say. "Why are you leaving?"

She took a deep draft of air. He could _see_ the tension building up in her frame. "Are we really doing this right now?"

"Answer the question."

"You don't think Sun hasn't asked me why?" Her voice was low. Controlled, but unable to hide the slightest tremor of nervousness.

His jaw tightened.

Sage crossed the room in three large strides, slamming his hand down on the table with a colossal crack, close enough for her to feel the impact reverberate through the floor. He could feel the shudder run through the wood; the promise that if he poured just a _little_ more of his strength into it, he could smash straight through to the floor.

His face was twisted. He could feel it. He could see reflected in her eyes the shadow of darkness burning through him, rage barely masked. "Stop. Avoiding. The question," he grit out.

Her silver eyes held some emotion Sage couldn't really read. He didn't really care to know it, anyways. He could read the rest of her just fine. She might be able to look him square in the eyes, but her body gave lie to her confidence.

Oh, he wanted to punch something. Badly. Pulp it until it was nothing but a tattered mess of wood and straw – or blood and bone, if he could get his hands on a Grimm. It was how he'd trained – pour the strength of his body into his strikes and all would fall before him. It was instinct, now.

He restrained himself, though. Now wasn't the time.

She looked away. Her next words would be a lie. "I have to."

Hidden behind his back, he flexed one of his calloused hands, pouring the flaring irritation he felt into the motion. Don't break the table, Sage. They're expensive.

He couldn't force himself to say her name, even though she'd insisted that her friends call her by it. He wasn't speaking as a friend right now. Not hers, anyways. "_Rose._"

She surged to her feet, the chair crashing to the floor behind her. She made to walk away, face turned deliberately away from him. Her voice was strained. "I don't have to deal with this."

Sage stared, shock numbing him briefly. She was… running. Fleeing. From him.

Not for long. His fury resurged. He lunged toward her, hand closing around her shoulder as an iron vice. Only for a moment though, for faster than thought she whirled, her tiny hand wrapping around his wrist and tearing it away.

Their eyes locked. Hers were a thunderclap to Sage's ire, shaking him.

Sage held a healthy amount of respect for Ruby Rose. How couldn't he? She was the deadliest huntress this side of Remnant. She had countless successful missions under her belt. She was kind and compassionate, fierce and skilled. Despite her tiny stature and light build, she dished out damage fit to bring even a large man like himself to his knees faster than he could ever hope to respond.

She had beaten him in a fight. Easily, even.

She looked at him now like she'd looked at him then, during their duel. Death stared through silver eyes. Warning him: _Don't push, or I'll hurt you so badly you'll never even _think_ of trying again_. In a thin line across his spine, Sage felt his skin crawl in memory of the last time he'd seen that look and the price he'd paid for taking that challenge.

She pinned him there for a long moment, letting it sink in.

He backed down, the burn in his blood abating slightly. His hand slackened on her shoulder and she let him pull back. Permitted him to retreat behind his neutral mask even as she let hers fall away as well. She looked tired, now, but Sage knew that the huntress would return if he pressed his luck again.

"Losing my team… my family… broke me, Sage." The words were quiet and flat, her expression unreadable. Sage felt a twinge of uncertainty as suddenly she turned away, her dark bangs hiding her eyes from him entirely.

Suddenly Sage was cut off from the huntress; with her back held straight and shoulders back, she was eerily still. It was the stillness of cold stone – and save for the imperceptible movement of breathing, she did not so much as twitch.

Sage didn't like it. No, he _hated_ it. Predators used stillness as a weapon, holding before the pounce for the perfect moment. The huntress was gone but he still felt like prey; the slightest feeling of pressure chafing the sixth sense he'd ingrained within his very being.

Anger. Defiance. How could someone so small – so _tiny _– bring him so low, when he'd stared death in the face so many times?

He would not… _No. _He would not let himself be cowed again. Not by mere words. "You're not the only one."

A twitch, or possibly an aborted shudder, ran through her body. Nervousness, or more likely, pain. Emotion of some kind, he knew at least. More than that, his fury whispered: emotion he could use.

"I never got better," she plowed on, teeth audibly grinding. "I just learned to live with it even though it's been killing me inside."

"So, you're just going to up and leave Mistral." Sage piled on the scorn. "Pack up, say your goodbyes and hide away at Beacon, never mind the people you'll be leaving behind."

'_Person_,' his mind whispered. He could care less about everyone else.

It worked. The stillness broke, and the glare she turned on him was fearsome, though wholly in line with what he was used to. Anger, he could handle. Anger made people stupid – like it had with him just moments before. It wasn't a predator staring at him now, just an angry woman.

"I'm not running."

"Bullshit," he sneered, keeping the rage within him tamed. This was for Sun. "Bad shit happened to you and now you lost your nerve. You're running scared and fuck the rest of us while you're at it. Ruby Rose finally decided she's had enough of her 'friends.'"

Her fingers flexed. Her good arm, too. She was thinking about hitting him. His own hands twitched, adrenaline slipping into his blood. _'Try it,'_ he thought coldly. _'Give it a shot. Give me an excuse.' _

In her sorry state the little reaper was nothing to him. He would love to pay her back the pain she was causing his leader.

It didn't come though. "You're way over the line, Sage," Ruby's voice was tight. Her face schooled back into a carefully controlled mask. "And you have no idea what you're talking about." Fire seeped through the cracks, her eyes _burned_. "Back off."

Something snapped.

"_Over the line?_" There was a note of astounded laughter in his voice that surprised even him, but he was already in motion. "You think _I'm_ over the line?!"

With one brutal sweep of his hand the dining table was shoved aside, clattering with the chairs on the ground against the wall. Nothing else separated them, leaving Ruby trapped against the low furniture. She could probably vault it, but with her weakened limbs Sage doubted she would chance it.

Nevertheless, Ruby ducked his right hook easily, backing away as he halted his momentum instantly and twisted to face her. Only a few feet away. "Do you know how _many_ fucking sleepless nights he's had because of you?!" He leapt, just barely avoiding putting his fist through the wall and sliding on the smooth wooden flooring. "Or about the stress, the anxiety?!"

She didn't block anything – he would have broken through anything she could muster. Instead she danced around him – a fucking ghost for all he could manage to touch her. Even without her semblance she was slipperier than a greased eel; harder to grab than the wind.

There was little space for her to run, however. Even as she leapt over the couch (arm flaring with scarlet aura, briefly strengthening it) Sage would merely follow, adrenaline spiking as he hit his stride.

Even through the haze of battle he could read her – could read his enemy. Defensive posture, eyes wide and face lightly flushed with exertion. Her arms were raised to protect her face, but he could see the shake in her left, the slight tremble in her knees not quite erased by combat.

She was shocked. Maybe even afraid, though knowing her he doubted it. Sage didn't care.

"Every!" Jab. "Fucking!" She ducked a haymaker and lightly punched him in the side, sending him stumbling forward. "Nightmare!" _Waking up to hear Sun's panting, lurching out of bed to fuss and fret and ask if he could help, if there was anything he could do. Scarlet right beside him, or in the kitchen making up the cocoa that Sun liked to wind down with. Always trying, never able. _

"I know, Sage!" Ruby shouted, her voice muted by the roar of blood in his ears. "I was there, as often as I could be!"

A left hook missed by near inches – always a near miss, he couldn't fucking touch her! "You're always on assignments!" Sage roared, unwilling to hear her pleas. "Putting your life in danger – what would happen if you died, huh?!" He leapt, she twisted away, his hands poised to close around her pale throat closing on air. "It would kill him!"

"I didn't have a choice!"

She danced backwards a few steps – Sage could see the sweat beading on her brow, the faint pink of her cheeks now a blotchy scarlet as she panted – and the punch he threw to exploit that vulnerability – _so close! _– overextended. Ruby grabbed him by the wrist and yanked. Sage staggered forward, then buckled around the sharp point of her knee into his unprotected gut, below the ribs.

She released him and backed away, letting him drop to the floor and attempt to regain the breath that suddenly refused to fill his lungs. A masterful pacification, and something he should have been ready for. That he'd_ trained_ to be ready for. Sage closed his eyes, his forehead touching the cold floor.

He couldn't do it. He couldn't _fucking_ do it. As always, falling short. Impotent. _Useless._

He didn't see her with his eyes shut, but her voice came from just over his left shoulder, a few paces away. Safe. He barely heard her over the roar in his ears. What he heard was rough, rife with signs of her fatigue. "I'm sorry that leaving will hurt Sun, Sage," Ruby said, exhausted emotional. "I'm sorry that I can't do more to help him. I told him that he should come with me to Vale – I asked him to do it, so we could face it together – but he isn't ready."

"He'll never _be_ ready," Sage rasped, still pained.

"He will be if you give him the time he needs." Ruby's voice was firm, despite the ragged huff of her breathing. "But I need this now – I need to face this while I have the courage, or I'll never do it at all."

But imag_es of Sun being awake _danced across his eyes, _the knowledge that he could never understand what his leader needed to heal, the feeling of being a constant disappointment. Sage wanted so badly to help his friend – Sun was team, his leader, his friend since before they even travelled to Haven from their ruined homeland, just like Scarlet and Neptune were. He was hurting now, but like the hunger that plagued their small quartet before they could scrounge the money up to enter Sanctum, Sage couldn't fight this enemy with his fists. _

_So what did_ _he fight it with? How could he protect his friends from something he couldn't see? Couldn't touch? Couldn't _understand?_ The medication barely helped sometimes, though Sun slept better when he tolerated it. The blonde hated it, however – hated how it made him feel, how it confined him to their home, prevented him from doing the thing he'd dedicated his life to. _

"_I can't be a huntsman if I'm on sleep meds, Sage," Sun grunted for the dozenth time after he'd found him at the table, head in his hands and shadows beneath his eyes. _

_But what will you be if you're hunting, and too tired to save yourself, idiot? What if we're not there? Sage wanted to rage at the injustice of it all. Scarlet was always calmer, always there to talk him down and cool his searing temper. Once upon a time Neptune might have pulled him aside to talk it out, spill his soul and just vent to someone who _got it_. Neptune always understood, always had a plan of attack, even though Sun was their tactician. _

_What did he do?_

Sage didn't realize he'd spoken aloud until the hand touched his shoulder, shaky and tentative. His breath was harsh, though he'd gotten his wind back. He was still strong, there was adrenaline singing in his veins, and she was close enough now that if he tried, he could probably grab her by the wrist and finish what he'd started.

He didn't.

"Be there for him," Ruby said softly, close enough to whisper, far enough that she had a chance of backing away if he exploded again. Smart. "Even when it hurts – especially when it hurts – and when it seems like it's never working."

"But it never helps!" Sage flared, wetness on his cheeks. The fire in his veins had nowhere to go but his eyes.

"It does," Ruby said firmly. "It might not seem like it, but it does. Things like this don't go away easily, or for long. You don't have to understand to be kind."

Sage hugged himself tighter, angry with himself. Angry at the streams coming from his eyes. Angry at Ruby, at Sun, at life. What did that even mean? How did that help, why couldn't he do more?

He didn't notice the door opening far away, but he did notice Scarlet's surprised yelp at the displaced furniture and his crumpled form on the ground. "Sage?! Ruby, what's going on?"

Ruby left him, her tiny hand taking away its coolness from his flushed skin. Sage could hear her talking to Scarlet in a hushed voice, but he didn't hear any of it.

'_What do I do?'_

X_0_X

"I'm going to be—"

"Don't say you're going to be alright, Ruby. You don't know that."

Ruby stared at her friend mournfully. With his elbows propped up on his knees and chin resting on his calloused fists (to hide their trembling, she knew), Sun stared out of the large panoramic windows of Mistral's airport terminal.

After Scarlet finally managed to cajole Sage into following him back to their house – without so much as a sideways glance her way from the huntsman, at that – Ruby soon realized that their altercation would only lead to an even longer day.

Fortunately, Sun was none the wiser to his teammate's actions. Unfortunately, his mood had taken a nosedive anyways the closer she came to departure.

Only twelve hours and she would be in Vale…

…_The scent of DEATH on the air FIRE in the sky metal falling scraping bending burning as MONSTERS roamed the streets…_

No. Sun first, stress later.

Her lips parted – what she meant to say even she didn't know – but she was interrupted before she could really begin as Sun suddenly slumped in his seat. He hid his blue eyes from the world and dragged his palms down his face, shame draping over his shoulders like a cloak.

"I'm sorry," he muttered. "I shouldn't be putting a downer on this. I should be _happy_ for you."

Ruby scowled. "You've got nothing to be sorry for, Sun." She would hardly be any better, were their positions reversed.

"No, I do." Sun's guard dropped. The naked vulnerability on his faced surprised her. What she saw did not. Ruby itched to wrap him in a hug; sadness, pain, fear, and behind it all the slightest glimmer of tears. "You're my closest friend, Ruby. You know that, right? I care about you. I want you to be happy, even though it means leaving me behind for a while. I _want_ that."

Her eyes feeling suspiciously moist, Ruby lunged forward and seized him in a bear-hug, squeezing as tightly as her ravaged strength permitted her to. Warm, strong arms closed around her in return.

"Thank you, Sun," she whispered. "And I get what you're saying… I don't want to leave you alone, but I _need_ to do this… Are you sure you can't come with me?"

"I promise I'll think about it," he muttered into her hair. "But not yet… I… I can't, Rubes. There's too much waiting for me there for me to go right now… I don't think I could stand seeing Neptune around every corner – visiting Haven was bad enough."

_A shock of electric blue hair, juxtaposed with the mundane pavement it lay upon… Oh no… _

"Just give it time." Ruby squeezed him tighter, ignoring the prickling of the muscle in her arm, as well as that of her heart. "I'll make sure to send letters regularly, and the CCT will be back online in a few months too. We'll keep in contact. I won't be gone completely."

"Yeah…"

There were no more words to share between them, so Ruby just leaned into his side and waited for the announcement for her flight. They had time, and she wasn't about to spend it anywhere else.

X_0_X

Mistral's airfleet was supplemented by around a dozen passenger-class ships, each designed to safely transport civilians between kingdoms. They were fast, fortified, and only slightly larger than the usual cargo ships one could find tearing through the skies. As a huntress, injured though she was, Ruby'd received an instant pass to the front of the waiting list for a flight to Vale.

It meant that she would be on call to provide assistance in the event of a Grimm attack, but she'd been assured that with the other two huntsmen on board, she had nothing to worry about, nothing whatsoever, Miss Rose.

The flight attendants had been painfully kind and patient in helping her limp to her seat, even providing her with an extra blanket against the chilly air conditioning. It was all – of course! – a pleasure to help out one of the kingdom's staunchest servants. No problem at all, and would you like us to fetch you anything?

All of that was to say that they'd still put her next to a bleary-eyed mother and her whiny child. Some things were universal.

"But moooooom!" Tune it out. Tune it out. "Why does _she_ get the window seat? I wanna see the sky! The clouds!" Maybe it was so that she didn't have to worry about tiny children or weak-bladdered neighbors squeezing past her still-sensitive legs. "Can I ask the pretty lady for a snack, mom? Can I get some juice?"

Sweet fucking Dust help her.

"I'm sorry," the woman apologized again wearily. Deftly, and against strong protest, she lifted and imprisoned the little girl in her lap with deceptively strong arms. The volume grew with the girl's squirming. Ruby cracked her eyes open to nod tiredly at her, ignoring the slug to the arm she got for her troubles.

Strong arm, little girl. Might have even left a bruise, but aura was a potent force indeed…

The mother was a kindly-looking brunette, probably in her late thirties if the developing lines on her face were anything to go by. Her hair was in disarray, flyaway strands sticking all over the place – clearly, she hadn't had the time to groom herself that morning before the flight. Her daughter on the other hand looked nothing like her. All dark hair and fine cheekbones. Probably took more after her father.

"It's fine," Ruby sighed, smiling bitterly. Never mind that she'd already been in a fight that day. Nor that she'd woken up exhausted, nightmares of a burning city and descending Grimm tormenting her. "It's still better than sitting in the huntsmen quarters in the front."

With its terrible air conditioning and way-too-little legroom. Economy class took a new meaning where huntsmen were concerned…

The woman glanced down at Crescent Rose, folded into its compact travel form against the wall, Heron sheathed beside it. Normally, weapons were forbidden on board airship flights. Huntress she was though, so they'd waived her by without so much as a second glance. "True enough… you wouldn't happen to be Huntress Rose, would you?"

Ruby looked her more fully in the eye. "Ruby Rose, yeah." She blinked. "Who's asking?"

"Bard Hvit, my brother. We've heard plenty of stories about you from him."

She didn't know anybody by that name, though… "Is he Atlesian?" Ruby peered closer at her, looking for something she missed. "You don't really have the look, but the name…"

"Yes," the woman smiled. "My name is Helgi. My husband and I emigrated when we married, but my parents came to Atlas from Vacuo. My brother was always much more attached to the city than we were though and stayed. He fought with the militia during the Battle of Mantle."

Ruby blinked, neurons firing for a brief moment, and then the memory was on her.

_Snow fell in driving flurries, cold and wet against her stained cheeks. Though she could see the mouths gaping wide wide, the crumble of masonry and twist of steel, and the unstoppable wave of black and crimson, her ears had long since been deafened to the cacophony. _

She would never get used to the flashbacks.

_Crescent Rose sang in her hands, the texture of the music resonating in the metal. Together, they clove Grimmflesh like warm butter, bone like dry kindling._

_But the dark tide kept coming. They never _stopped_ coming. She was a machine on autopilot by now – it was simple instinct to fight and kill after so many hours, no matter the fatigue leeching the vigor from her limbs – but they were relentless._

_A Nevermore – an alpha, if not ancient, judging by the dense, bony crest on its face – screeched above her amidst the clash of air forces, the sound muted to the faintest screech of nails on steel. Ruby felt, more than heard, the concussive force of the explosion as the monstrous avian tore another airship from the sky, its huntsman overwhelmed. She glanced up, traced its trajectory._

_Her breath hitched._

_She had to run she had to get overthererightnow—_

"Miss Huntress?" A tiny hand pulled on her sleeve and Ruby snapped out of it, sucked abruptly back into her seat on the airship… not in Mantle.

The hand tugged again, Ruby looked down at the little girl with the nice cheekbones. Her eyes were a very deep shade of green, like maple leaves. Once she was older and lost her baby fat, she'd be quite the beauty.

"Yes?" Ruby said. Her words seemed to echo, to her ears, from the end of a long cavern.

Ignorant, the child smiled wider. "Do you know any good stories? Huntsmen always have the best stories!"

"Gem, why don't you leave Miss Rose alone for a little while," her mother interceded, her eyes lingering on Ruby with a nervous – guilty? – cast. "You've got your toys to play with during the flight."

"But mom, she's a _huntress_!"

"It's alright." Ruby forcefully pushed away the memories and plastered on a smile. "I know a few good stories. Do you know the one about Betushka the Fleet?"

"Nuh-uh, who was she?"

"Well… If I recall, Betushka was a peasant girl who liked to dance…" As she dove into the story, Ruby kept a careful eye on Helgi, a part of her guilty for zoning out on the woman. Undoubtedly her brother dealt with some of the same problems that dogged her – she didn't want to make the woman feel terrible for drawing out some of that pain by accident.

Thankfully, her daughter was easy to distract once she had an in, and Ruby was well-equipped with dozens of huntsmen stories to keep her enthralled. Storytelling was probably in her blood. Her father was most likely the culprit, what with his big mouth and habit of boasting when Qrow got a few drinks in him.

Ruby hitched in the middle of her sentence as _Golden curls shining bright even in the darkness, she snuggled deeper into the warmth, savoring the kindly words even as she awed at the acts of heroism, bravery, and sacr_ifice_— _Stop.

Gem looked at her oddly, but she quickly recovered and returned to the story.

They took flight not long into the second story – Betushka the Huntress was a simple tale, especially with a little girl for an audience – and for the third Ruby chose a particularly long-winded rendition of 'The Mirror of Tsubaki.'

It was the story her dad would tell her when he'd had a long day and needed her to fall asleep. It was good, but very long and very dry and absolutely riddled with Mistrallan custom and tradition.

Suffice to say, halfway through the telling, Gem's eyes acquired that particular glaze of a child who will sooner do anything else than pay attention.

That something turned out to be taking a nap.

"You'll have to tell me where you found that one," Helgi commented dryly as the little girl slumped against her arm, a few strands of dark hair puffing out from her nose as she sank into slumber. "She's usually a terror."

"It's in most of the old books of Mistrallan folk tales," Ruby waved her off. "Nothing obscure."

"I'll remember that. Thank you for putting up with her, Gemini loves her stories. I can't seem to teach her manners just yet, though."

Ruby snorted, a smile tugging on her lips – one that Helgi soon shared as they moved on to lighter conversation.

The flight was smooth, something that shouldn't have surprised Ruby as much as it did. Aviation had finally caught up to Dust advancements in the last couple of decades, turning the early, primitive airship models left over from the Color Wars into smoother, sleeker passenger flights. Ruby was used to the constant thrum of turbulence or listening to the muted chatter of the pilots. It was what huntsmen were subjected to when they needed to travel long distance – no time for luxury, just the bare minimum necessary to get them where they needed going.

She'd only ever been on one other flight like it – the crossing from Vale to Mistral just after the Fall of Beacon – and even that was riddled with Grimm alerts.

To their credit, the huntsmen and pilots managing the flight warded the Grimm away before she'd even been tempted to ask if she could lend a hand.

It was… odd. Internally, Ruby warmed knowing that this kind of experience – one lacking the fear or tension of her chosen lifestyle – was what she was able to bring to others through her work.

And Helgi was good company once her daughter wasn't being a distraction. At first, she avoided bringing up Ruby's work, probably hoping to not plunge her back into bad memories, but Ruby was quick to cure her of that notion.

She was _proud_ of her skills, and her lifestyle. Maybe she had her doubts – maybe she didn't know if she would continue anymore – but so long as the woman didn't touch on Horikiri or other similar dark spots (and it wasn't like she'd know to touch those things in the first place), she was happy to answer whatever questions were thrown at her.

The proverbial flood gates opened after that.

Ruby was a Huntress, after all. _The_ Huntress according to the (overblown) rumors floating around. The Reaper of Mistral. The best of the best, in a profession where mediocrity was far and away beyond what a civilian could even hope to achieve. And she'd been at it for nearly a decade.

Anyone even remotely interested in huntsmen circles, or that kept up with the local news, knew her name, and knew it well.

Her work carried with it a reputation that can't really be shaken.

Ruby bore it with what she hoped was grace. It helped that she didn't _hate_ her reputation – stories were what drew her in in the first place. But the attention it brought her, as well as the expectations…?

…_They pressed onwards, no matter the pain. They had a job to complete…_

…_Just keep moving forward…_

She did not know whether or not they were deserved, or that she could uphold them. But she would try, at the very least.

It passed the time well if nothing else.

Before she knew it, the flight attendants began making their rounds, offering their meals. Ruby declined, her appetite distinctly lacking since she'd woken up, but Helgi had no such qualms. Gem slept like the dead between them, and without anything to distract her Ruby stared out of the window at the clouds passing below.

How long until Vale came into view? What would it look like?

…_The city on a hill, the city in the valley, the city with its back fixed against the wall, now crippled, vulnerable afraid and overrun by its mortal foes, parasites, intruders. _

_Vale was being eaten, devoured from the outside in, the inside out. The monstrous incursion, a black wave, abetted by the corrupted guardians and the rebels… A dark cloud descended upon the city that would not be dispersed for a very long time indeed._

_And then she was back. Years had passed. She gazed down upon that city from the airship, hands tight on Crescent Rose and frozen heart cracking just a little more seeing the city she loved reduced to such a mangled, grey specter of its former glory. _

_The Drake loomed. The Grimm snarled. Within the airship, the chatter died. All was silent before the order went out, the city itself tensing in time with the unusual calm. _

_Then, the Airfleet shattered the sky with a hail of gunfire, and it all went to hell. _

_Joyless, she leapt, plummeting down into the chaos…_

She knew it would be different. When last she'd been in Vale it was still that specter, only just reclaimed from the grip of the Grimm infestation. Fortifications were still being built, Grimm were rampant even weeks after they scoured the ruins for stragglers. There were just too many, and more poured in constantly from all across the continent through their threadbare defenses.

It had been gruesome work, carving their beachhead. _Hard_ work.

The worst was burying the multitudes of dead left behind by the attacks. Many were simply scraps, consumed for sport or satisfaction by the Grimm, but many too were locked away in homes and basements and bunkers, starved out while awaiting rescue…

…Ruby's memories of the city were grey.

But she knew that, over the last few years, once the world realized that it wasn't simply a fluke, and that those who remained staunch in their resolve to restore the capital to its former glory were truly dedicated,

Vale had undergone an almost-miraculous rebirth. Merchants in the markets in Mistral – when she failed to redirect the topic of conversation back to her work – were always happy to inform her of the incredible investment opportunities to be found within the city. There was always a need to be found there.

Food, cloth, water, stone – you name it, Vale needed more of it and was happy to pay handsomely with the funding it received from Atlesian investors and the newly reformed city government.

Most importantly, she knew the CCT Tower was soon to come back online after a decade of disuse. It was all the four kingdoms could talk about – many missed the luxury of internet and international communication and were eager to see them return.

But those were just surface level thoughts. Ren and Nora were there. An too. Jaune. Oscar. The professors. They were all there.

In her bag she still had the letters. When he'd heard the news, Jaune had been quick to forward her to Glynda Goodwitch, now headmistress of the resurgent Beacon Academy. Ren and Nora were enthusiastic in their encouragement, urging her to accept her generous offer – employment was abundant in Vale right now, with all the reconstruction, but to work at the school? Plenty of huntsmen would kill for such an honor.

'_We would be honored to have you here at Beacon, Ruby,' _Glynda'd written. _'While no individual position has opened up that requires a new professor to take up tenure, I'm sure your skills and experience out in the field will be valuable additions. Professors Port and Arc are always on the lookout for new opportunities to demonstrate alternative forms of combat and tactics. They are happy to have you work with them as a part-time instructor to supplement their class material.' _

She'd added, softer to contrast the earlier high formality, _'I personally hope you accept our offer. You may not have graduated, but I consider you one of our brightest alumni. However, in the event of your declining, I expect you to at least visit for a spell for some tea, and some catching-up.'_

She had accepted without issue. She still didn't know whether she'd make an effective teacher or not, or whether she could be content in limiting herself to that, but she would do her best. It was just one more expectation on her shoulders to match the myriad others, after all.

"Do you know," Helgi hummed beside her, setting aside her meal. Her eyes startled Ruby with their clarity, emeralds she'd given to her daughter. "How I knew you from any other huntress?"

Ruby turned away from her brooding – grey to match the clouds passing by below. "No, why? Did your brother tell you?"

"He said he was saved by a scythe-wielder in red. That she turned the tide of the Grimm for long enough for the city to be evacuated."

Why was she so bold now? Ruby shifted in her seat, uncomfortable with the line of thought. No memories – not yet – but they would quickly return. "I wasn't alone."

"Maybe not," Helgi conceded. The corners of her lips were raised, and she watched Ruby with a soft expression. Inwardly, she jolted upon realizing that the woman had been watching her the entire time, witnessing her ruminations. "But I've heard stories about you for quite a while – everyone knows the Reaper in red with her scythe, it's not hard to put two and two together."

Where was she going with this?

"Yes?"

"But you're not wearing your cloak."

Ruby tucked her arms against herself. No, she wasn't.

…_It was a rag. A red, muddied, torn rag. _

_She stared back at Velvet blankly, the faunus taking the article back with gentle hands. "It can be repaired, Ruby. You've been doing it for years. I'll wash it tonight and see what I can do to sew it back up for you…"_

And she had. Bless her, the cloak Velvet returned to her was functional and as whole as Ruby could have hoped for. Even more worn for wear than it had been even before – and it was in a sorry state indeed before her failed assignment – But she hadn't had the heart to put it on while she still doubted her purpose.

"So. How'd you know it was me? My scythe?" She didn't want to talk about this any more.

"That and your eyes," Helgi admitted. "I've never seen silver eyes like yours."

No, nobody had. What was the point of all of this? Helgi just kept staring at her with soft eyes that made Ruby squirm on the inside. The look held the same penetrating quality of the one Sun levelled at her when she'd just freshly awoken from unconsciousness. It pierced too many layers. It saw too much.

Helgi reached over her daughter's head to pat Ruby's arm comfortingly. "Every story I've heard says you never go anywhere without your cloak… I think I can draw my own conclusions. I hope whatever you're looking for in Vale, you find it."

She looked away. "Thank you."

"You're very welcome, huntress."

…She hoped so too.

X_0_X

'_I should probably come back later…'_

Velvet had excellent hearing. Better than excellent, actually, given that she had twice the usual number of ears – and two of them were exceptionally designed.

Not that it wasn't annoying sometimes, such as when Coco brought home one of her conquests and she could hear them through the (literally) paper thin walls of their Mistrallan home…

She didn't really need to hear some random girl melting under the not-so-tender administrations of her leader, thank you very much. She didn't need that in the slightest.

And she wasn't the only one to hear it, either – Yatsuhashi and Fox were always just a little too awkward the mornings after – she just happened to hear it with_ much_ greater clarity than you'd expect from the average person.

So yeah. Great ears. Great hearing.

Which was to say that she could hear Sun and Scarlet through the door.

From outside. Shouting.

…Awkward.

She didn't want to – it was so hard to avoid listening in on private conversation sometimes! Especially when the gossip was especially salacious…

But this time she rather felt she'd be better off not bearing witness, so her knuckles hovered in front of the wood, knock abandoned.

The two huntsmen within were arguing. Vociferously. Violently, maybe, though she couldn't hear the telltale smack of flesh on flesh to confirm her fears.

The passion in their voices though…

"_Maybe you'd understand better if you even _tried_ seeing his side of the argument!"_

"_He attacked her! There is no 'his side'!"_

Velvet bounced on her heels, nervously chewing her lips. Should she intervene? Was this private? No, she cursed herself, of course this was private. They were in their house. Private property. People didn't usually appreciate strangers barging in to put a stop to arguments. Unless there was actual violence, at least. But would even that much count if it was between huntsmen…?

But she wasn't quite a stranger either, was she?

"_Damnit Sun, he's worried about you!" _

"_I don't give a fuck if he's worried! He can't just – vent that! – on my friends!"_

"_He didn't hurt her – nothing came of it!"_

"_Bull-fucking-shit nothing came of it, she's still recovering! She was exhausted the entire time I saw her this morning!"_

What happened? Velvet wasn't oblivious – she had no doubt who the 'she' they were talking about was. She knew that something significant must have happened to turn Ruby's complexion that pasty, fatigued grey that morning.

Her movements had been sluggish, like she hadn't slept that night (and she hadn't, but this was worse!), and her cheerful demeanor was just a bit more forced than it had been before she'd left her side for a few hours.

It wasn't a good look on the woman. But it had been the last time Velvet would see her friend for several months, so she'd put on the same act Ruby had and hoped that it was just the nerves of returning to the nest of touchy memories that was Vale getting to her.

Maybe it was nothing. Was she so wrong to think that?

…Bad idea, apparently.

…Fucking hindsight…

"_Well if you're so broken up about her leaving, you should have gone with her!"_

"_This isn't about that!"_

Brown eyes cast around the street for other onlookers, unlikely as it was that they'd be able to hear the two arguers. The walls were thin in Mistral, but you'd need good ears to hear over the wind blowing through the city that evening (out of necessity she'd long since learned to tune out _that_ sort of background noise lest it drive her insane).

They were more likely to wonder why she was standing awkwardly outside the door.

Oh Dust, she didn't want to be a rumor.

Velvet twitched, ears curling up into tight little rolls on her head. Maybe she should have brought along Coco after all. She would know what to do in this kind of situation. She wasn't as sensitive as Velvet was, after all – Coco was all blunt force, crass attitude and persona. She would barge in and start taking names like it was nothing, like she owned the place.

Should she…?

Picturing herself – trying and utterly _failing_ to do the same – quickly wilted that intention. She did _not_ have the brass that kind of direction required.

Maybe knock after all?

"_The fuck are you so worried about?!"_

"_What am I worried about? I'm tired of watching your back, hoping you haven't gotten yourself killed while we're not looking, that's what! You hunt even when you're dead on your feet – when you've gone days without sleep! Of course we're worried! You think Sage and I haven't been absolutely fucking terrified we'll turn around and find you being torn to pieces? What about that, Sun?!"_

Scarlet's voice hit a fever pitch that grated on her ears, and her fist dropped again. Gods, she should just go home and return in the morning when tempers cooled some.

Hopefully cooled.

Would they?

Scarlet's voice rose to drown out Sun's protestations. _"Neptune is _dead_! Dead and fucking buried! You're the only one who hasn't moved on! Get over yourself and go after her if you can't handle it, because I can't handle this shit anymore!"_

_BANG!_

Velvet flinched. That would be the bedroom door… the hinge was probably busted after that… Footsteps. Approaching. Oh shit someone was leaving and she was in the fuckin—

Velvet ducked away from the door just in time for it to fly open with a loud crash. Sun Wukong, blonde hair askew, jaw clenched, and weapon clutched in trembling hands, stormed out without a second glance at her. Down the road.

Velvet's ears drooped.

He'd left the door open, too.

Sun's angry stride carried him swiftly through the streets of Mistral. His steps were not loud; a huntsman would never be so careless as to make his movements obvious, and the light snowfall muffled what little might have been otherwise. Velvet followed behind him, equally silent.

A careful huntsman would not allow himself to be stalked so easily, either. Velvet didn't think that Sun was in a very careful mindset at the moment.

Down a level, not very far from the Huntsmen Guild, Mistral's council maintained a set of training rings and a small field for its huntsmen to maintain their skillsets while staying in the city. They were compact, rough, and efficient, much like the fighters that used them. In the early mornings, packs of children would sometimes congregate to watch the fighters run through their forms, dreaming of the day that they could join their exalted ranks.

Some even had the nerve to ask to join in.

The fields were largely empty that night, a lone woman in her mid-twenties swinging at one of the many practice dummies with her claymore the exception. She gave only a cursory glance to Sun as he stalked onto the field, whipped his dual weapons into a single stave in one smooth motion, and swung viciously at an imagined foe.

Her dark eyes locked on Velvet a moment later, measuring.

'_Do I need to worry about you?'_ those eyes seemed to ask, fingers dancing on her claymore. They flickered to Sun. '_I don't think he's in the mood.'_

Velvet gave her a minute shake of the head, hands held away from her waist. _'No, you're fine.' _Her hands twisted upwards to match her shrug. _'I can handle it.'_

The huntress' head bobbed, already losing interest in the exchange, _'Fine.'_

And that was that. It was nice sometimes, talking to huntsmen. Actions were much simpler to speak through than searching for the right words.

Sticking to the shadows, Velvet took the time to observe her friend.

He looked ragged. Tired. His movements were fluid and efficient, body twisting and contorting in time to the internal rhythm he'd set for himself, but there was missing the usual undercurrent of energy and vibrancy Velvet associated with the friendly huntsman.

Emotion could only substitute for that lack for so long; it was only a few minutes into his forms before Velvet could see the minute cracks in his defenses opening up.

A backswing took a split-second too long. Feet dragging just ever so slightly across the dusty earth raised an opportunity to sweep him off his feet. Eye movement – integral to keep pace with the ever-shifting battlefield – started to slow, unable to keep up with the rest of him through the most ambitious of his acrobatics.

Muscle memory carried him through – this wasn't a real fight – but _in_ that real fight those moments would have been easy for her to exploit.

And he still hadn't seen her, and that was telling enough on its own.

Velvet shifted her weight, frowning as she considered her options. What could she say? What should she do? Should she even do anything?

She knew that Yatsuhashi would council patience. He was tepid at best when it came to emotions, a rock amidst the flowing tides of the world around him. Fox and Coco would recommend something more… overt. They were impatient and passionate – as fiery a duo as Velvet and Yatsuhashi were reserved.

As his stave came down in a powerful overhand strike, Sun stumbled, overbalanced.

He quickly corrected himself, face contorted in a fearsome picture of anger, but the mistake seemed to flick a light off in Velvet's head.

Sun was angry, so fire wasn't going to work for that, nor was patience.

Fighting flame with flame would just leave them both fuming and reduce him to cinders in the process. Patience might leave her untouched, but he would just burn himself out on his own without her interference. Sun needed a different touch than anything her teammates could provide.

Maybe…?

…_It was a few years prior, after a particularly exhausting mission. Velvet had been lucky where her team had not – the Ursai they'd been hunting weren't agile enough to catch her out and she'd emerged relatively unscathed. Yatsuhashi, by contrast, was nursing bruised ribs, Fox a sprained ankle, and Coco aura exhaustion. Rest was what the doctor ordered, and soon enough Velvet had found herself going stir crazy, aching for a release of all the energy pent up inside her._

"_Go to the training ring, Hun," Coco rolled her eyes tiredly, reclining back on the sofa. If Velvet hadn't been used to her leader's provocative nature, she would have blushed up a storm seeing the brunette's shirt ride up on her torso to reveal her pale tummy, washboard abs visible from across the room. _

_That was long ago. Now, Velvet had seen Coco blind-piss drunk and hung over – after that night there was no way she would ever be embarrassed by Coco manipulating her with her body ever again. _

…_Maybe a little, but she wasn't so easy anymore._

_Training sounded like a great idea, though, so she dressed herself in some functional clothes and made her way down to the training ring, the fading sun low on the horizon. To her surprise, she'd found the ring occupied. _

_It wasn't the occupation that surprised her, but rather the occupants. Ruby Rose was a whirlwind of flashing steel and rose petals as always, and her opponent – equally nimble – panted furiously as he tried and failed to pierce her guard. _

"_Just. Stand. Still!" Sun grunted. Ruby swatted away his staff before he could complete his lunge and retaliated by following through and swiping at him with the butt end of her scythe's snath. _

_There didn't seem to be a point to their exercise – Sun's motions weren't practiced or smooth, nor were they anything close to the usual aptitude Velvet had seen from him in the past. With a soft gasp she noticed the yellow light of late evening glinting off his cheeks, trails of liquid gold streaming down. _

_He panted and renewed his assault, but it was Ruby's face that caught her attention. Cast from simple patience – empathy and _understanding_ in her silver eyes – Ruby simply let the huntsman vent his frenzied emotions on her, her own skill more than enough to keep ahead of him… _

What would _Ruby_ do if she were here?

The answer came to her with stark clarity, and Velvet felt her spine straighten of its own accord as purpose settled within her. Hand drifting down to Anesidora, Velvet left the shadows and strode toward her friend.

Sun barely had a moment to breath between noticing her approach and her first attack, the ghostly-blue apparition of his Bo staff halting the original's motion in its tracks. "Velvet?"

"Hey Sun." Velvet felt her semblance take over, electricity dancing in her veins as she let it guide her limbs through the unfamiliar motions. She had control; it wasn't autopilot, but rather like she had temporary access to the same muscle memory of the people she emulated. Muscles she hadn't used in weeks – she typically preferred blades over stave combat – filled with blood and worked themselves.

She would ache in the morning, but it would be worth it. Unless she really overdid it, it was usually a good ache.

She shoved him back and skipped back a few steps, her personal rhythm blending with Sun's frenetic fighting style. That was similar. But she was just a beat faster, like the tempo had been touched up just a smidge. Speed over power; Sun would have the advantage in a conventional clash, but she could feel her muscles itching to dance around those powerful strikes.

His eyes narrowed. "What are you…" the tip of his staff dropped, a scowl overtaking him. "Velvet, I'm not really in the mood for talking right now."

Velvet paused, her rhythm stymied momentarily. What would Ruby do?

She considered it for a moment, then allowed her ghostly weapon to dissolve into light, and recalled something else. With a tap of her finger, she summoned a different weapon.

Crescent Rose twirled in her hands, Ruby's instinct filling her arms, mimicking the heft of fifty pounds of solid, tempered steel.

Dust, the girl had biceps to make a bodybuilder cry.

Velvet crouched lower, the ghostly scythe running parallel to her body.

_Keep the circle, always keep the circle. Know your range_, her muscles seemed to scream. _Know when to strike, and strike hard, strike fast_.

She knew that scythes were different from the other weapons; Crescent Rose required a mastery of the body, the mind, and the fight that Velvet just barely felt she'd tapped into. Wielding it was an art unto itself.

She locked eyes with Sun, willing him to sense the challenge she projected. "Don't talk then. Fight me." Her fingers twitched on the ghostly metal; not quite cold, not quite solid, yet very present and almost alive with energy.

Sun stared at her hard, motionless. For a moment, the only sound between them were their soft breaths, the wind, and the huntress in the next ring over.

'_Show me your fire, Sun,_' she thought. _'I can take it.' _

Blue eyes peered into hers, searching, saw her own spark. His hands flexed around his staff. _'Are you sure?'_ Velvet flicked the very tip of Crescent Rose's blade upwards, playful like a cat's tail. Sun's lips twitched despite himself.

The overhead strike he opened with – all the more powerful for the brief rest he'd taken – would have shaken Velvet to her core had it landed solidly, but Ruby's instincts were more than prepared to deal with it. They were ready; a heady lust raring to engage in the fight. She caught his staff with the inward edge of her blade, deflecting it off to the side. Her body followed through, twisting around at high speed.

Keep your circle.

The butt of the snath came back around, ready to catch Sun unawares but he was already in motion, planting his stave in the ground, using it too root himself as he lifted himself perpendicular to the ground. With a clipped yell, his legs snapped up, and he lashed out with both feet.

Velvet took the blow, her chocolate-brown aura flaring slightly to disperse the minor damage. She landed on her back, rolled with it, halting her momentum and resetting her feet in a single motion. But Sun was already on her.

_Left, right, shove, spin and upward diagonal back up! _

Ruby's dance was exhilarating. Velvet could feel Sun's anger with each and every blow she deflected, redirected, blocked and dispersed. Nothing got through; her own battle instincts were more than enough to keep up with the huntsman even without Ruby's superb reflexes backing them up. If she was just using her short sword, she would – probably – still be able to take him, though Sun's abilities were clearly meant for huntsman-to-huntsman fighting more than they were suited for Grimm.

It made for an interesting contrast. Crescent Rose, made for reaping Grimm, versus Sun's Bo staff, made for a constant barrage of lighter, exhausting blows perfect for draining her aura in the one-on-one.

It was his emotions that gave her the edge she needed to control the flow of the fight. Velvet could feel Sun's skill in the thrum of her heartbeat and the bead of sweat on her brow, but his anger made him sloppy.

A lateral strike – aimed above her circle, trying to circumvent her reach – missed as she ducked down below it. Velvet took the opening and hooked her scythe behind his ankle, yanking hard to compensate for the lack of bullet-recoil Ruby would have used.

Sun toppled, his foundation ruined. Velvet moved her blade below his chin, signaling the end of their bout, and met his eyes. Again, her mind returned to her purpose, seeing the burning emotions behind those blue orbs. Ruby would be patient. Understanding. Kind. Her eyebrows quirked. _'Again?'_

He nodded and took the hand she held out to him.

Their next fight, Sun was more patient. Professional. He didn't have the energy to be as reckless, so he tamed his anger and took his time measuring her up. Velvet relished in the slight twitch of his brow, the shift in his stance as they circled each other. She could see the myriad strategies running through his mind.

This was what she lived for.

She was a huntress. If Sun wanted victory, he'd have to work for it.

Velvet traced various patterns in the air with the tip of her scythe, already having a measure of the man across from her. Her tempo slowed from its frenetic beat. She could feel its tight coil tensing ever further, waiting to pounce.

The sun disappeared fully below the horizon, casting the duelists in shadow. In the single instant of distraction Sun leapt on her and she was forced back on the defensive.

Unlike before, where he'd focused his strikes into powerful, sweeping blows, this time his staff was a viper. Velvet was fast on her own. Ruby's reflexes granted her an even deeper wellspring of agility to draw from. But Sun's strikes were an eyeblink, and she was suddenly hard-pressed to avoid or redirect everything.

And that was a problem, because _that _was the entire point of this style she was borrowing. What was the point of redirecting something when the power behind it vanished as soon as she could meet it?

Velvet floundered, instincts at war with themselves as her semblance shuffled through the catalogue of muscle memory, seeking for a new response.

She assumed control in the meantime, lashing out with her scythe to give herself a moment to breathe, and then twirled Crescent Rose around in a tight circle. Her semblance hummed beneath her skin suddenly, information flooding her brain. The style she'd drawn from Ruby wasn't the correct form to meet this change from Sun. He'd shifted tactics to compensate for her style's weaknesses. That didn't mean she couldn't win. She could do the same thing.

She breathed in. Upped the tempo.

'_Time to dance, Monkey Boy.'_

They clashed again, and this time Velvet focused less on the vicious, cleaving attacks and constant clashing Ruby's primary style favored. She merely danced, a wraith to Sun's stinging gadfly. The two wove around each other, at times breaking free to catch their breath and reassess their opponent, at times dashing forward to unleash a flurry of blows.

Velvet was on the run, but that was hardly to Sun's advantage. She was rested. Energetic. Patient. He was exhausted, worked up and even now feeling the full weight of his earlier emotional toil. She could afford to run.

Eventually she saw her opportunity. Sun made to jump backwards, planting his staff into the ground to push off of like before. But Velvet was already in motion, sweeping bottom of the staff from the ground with the butt end of Crescent Rose's snath – leaving Sun wide open for the heavy, wicked scythe blade to crash into his side and send him to the ground.

She gave him a minute to rest before they circled each other for the next bout. She was a little fatigued from the two fast-paced duels, but still had plenty of energy to burn.

The tension broke like a thunderclap, splitting the air with the sound of aura-reinforced hardwood meeting steel.

Almost immediately Velvet was struck by the change in Sun's fighting style once again. No more powerful strikes, and less emphasis on the smaller, stinging strikes. Instead Sun kept on her, moving in too close for her scythe's range to be effective. She made to shove him away, but he was just a bit faster, slamming her scythe's snath with the length of his staff. She was forced away, and he repeated the tactic over and over.

It didn't do anything in the way of damage, but it kept her off balance and on the defensive. Every time she was forced away, she would have just a split second to prepare herself before he was on her again, and whenever she made to turn the tactic on _him_, he would twist to the side and send her careening off balance.

Ruby's instincts warred with her. Keep your circle! They told her.

'_He's _in_ my circle, shut up!' _she protested back.

Still, it didn't do much to actively hurt her or tire her overmuch, so she didn't see much of a point in it. Maybe he was trying to throw her off guard…?

And then Sun hit the transformation switch on his staff, splitting it into four separate components, and suddenly she understood.

He leapt on her like a panther, Velvet's aura flaring into visibility as she struggled against multiple simultaneous lines of attack at once. Backing away did nothing, he just leapt at her and continued the onslaught, and every attempt to create some distance between her and him was firmly rebuked or instantly nullified. She shoved, he took the force and immediately returned with greater fury. She swiped, he twisted out of the way or jumped straight over the slashing steel.

It was a style most effective in very close quarters – and thus excellent against such a cumbersome, unwieldy weapon as a scythe. Had she a moment to prepare Velvet would have drawn her sword or summoned another weapon – maybe those twin daggers she'd taken a snapshot of the other day? – but he didn't allow her even that.

Clever bastard. How long had he been practicing against Ruby to have this particular counter at the ready? It was just another configuration of the weapon he already used, sure, but his tactics – throw her off balance, get inside her guard, and now the relentless barrage of strikes where she simply couldn't be all at once – were perfectly designed to work against scythe-wielders.

Very clever indeed.

Amidst it all, Velvet deferred to her fallback strategy and attempted to throw up what defense she could. Though she could feel her aura protesting the constant stream of impacts, it wasn't nearly so bad as it could have been. Sun's gunchucks traded raw power for speed and flexibility; she could keep up her shields for several minutes at this rate.

Her opponent was not so fortunate.

Sun's brow was shiny with sweat, even in the low lighting. Her sensitive ears could easily hear his heavy, controlled breaths, and even now he was slowing. This was his, what? Third wind? Huntsmen had reserves unlike anybody else, but Sun's were low to begin with between his recklessness before and the drain his sleeplessness had eaten into his stamina.

Eventually, he faltered.

And this time, when Velvet knocked him flat on his back, she joined him. The dusty earth was cold – almost painfully so against her sweaty arms and legs – but against her back, protected from the bite by her shirt it was incredibly refreshing.

They stared at the cloudless sky together.

"Feel… better?" Velvet panted.

"I think… I needed that," Sun rasped tiredly, voice drained of some of the raw emotion clouding it before.

"Glad I… could help."

"Yeah…" His head turned to look at her, dark shadows under his eyes every more prominent on his pale face. He looked unusually ghostly that night; the rising moon turned his normal tan into something thinner, less healthy. "Sooo… why'd you come all the way out here?"

"I overheard your argument with Scarlet." The words seemed to come easier after their bout. "I didn't mean to – I just wanted to see how you were doing – but yeah. I didn't think you should be alone after that."

Ruby would be honest. Direct.

He looked away from her, hands stretching up behind his head and a jagged laugh escaping his lips. "Ha… You're probably right. Thanks." She didn't like the sour note in his voice.

"You want to talk about it?"

"Not really."

"You sure?"

"Pretty damned sure, Velvet."

"You su—"

Okay maybe she was drawing on Coco just a little, but her leader was usually pretty excellent at getting others to open up. Sun glared at her sullenly. "You're not gonna let me leave without talking, are you?"

Should she?

"Nah," Velvet sighed.

Some of the impetuous energy remaining from the fight left her. Maybe she could press a bit more. Maybe it would do some good, even. But she could sense that the toxic fire burning within her companion had managed to burn its way out of him – and wasn't that her goal in the first place?

"I won't make you talk about it," she said. "I'm here though, you know? I didn't know you well before Ruby had her accident, but you're my friend now too. I look out for my friends."

He thought over her words for a long minute, before finally releasing a tired sigh. "Thanks, Velvet. I might take you up on that sometime."

"Good."

Her eyes flickered shut, a smile touching her face. She'd done it! She'd comforted someone without pissing them off or making them cry in the process! Suck it, Fox! Velvet Scarlatina can do the social thing!

"Do you know what you'll be doing next?" she found herself asking.

"Dunno. Don't think Scarlet's had enough time to cool off yet. Don't really want to talk to Sage right now, either."

Velvet's ears quirked, and she glanced at the huntsman next to her. He was staring up at the sky, gaze distant. Should she… hm. What would Ruby do?

X_0_X

Coco eyed up Sun from the doorframe, hip cocked to one side and glasses pulled just ever-so-dramatically down the bridge of her nose. "Another charity case, Vel?"

Well, so much for her earlier confidence. It had seemed like such a good idea, when she'd made the offer. Maybe she could convince Yatsuhashi to back her up? Maybe nick some of Fox's blackmail material? "Ah…"

Coco waved her off. "Save it. Bring him in. Fox can bunk with Yatsuhashi for a while, maybe he'll learn how to keep a clean room while he's at it."

Sun rubbed the back of his neck awkwardly, a touch of pink entering his cheeks. "I don't want to put anyone out…"

But Coco interrupted him, a single manicured digit hovering just over the tip of his nose. "Nuh-uh. If Velvet's got you figured for needing help, I'm not gonna question it. Just get your butt in here and make yourself at home before I change my mind, 'kay?"

Silent beside him, Velvet glowed with pride – Coco had a heart! No extortion required!

"Right…"

X_0_X

"Huntress?"

Her feet were fixed in place.

"Huntress? Miss Rose?"

"I can do this," Ruby whispered, her eyes on the ground, half lidded. Her feet felt like they were shackled in cast iron, or lead.

It was too quiet for the lady to hear, though.

Helgi and her daughter were already gone, leaving with a lingering look from the kindly mother. Crescent Rose dangled limply in her hand at her side, her thumb rubbing absently over the metal.

This was it.

"Do you need assistance, Miss Rose?"

No, she didn't. Not the kind she was thinking of.

Vale. Vale. _Vale._

She'd put off thinking about it as best she could. She'd convinced herself that she could do this. She wanted to recover that sense of safety she remembered. Vale. Home? No. No longer.

It hadn't been home for a long time. Not Vale, and not Beacon.

Not Patch either, when she thought about it, though something ached in her when she thought of her childhood stomping grounds and the old, quiet cottage in the woods…

Even Mistral – the place she'd considered home for the last ten years – now felt more like an extended stopover.

Where _was_ home, now?

The flight attendant was irritated. "Miss Rose, we really need you to depart from the airship. If you require assistance, I would be happy to help you."

Ruby could hear it in her voice, see it in her eyes, the cast of her shoulders, the slightest scowl of her lips. Professionally cool though she was, she couldn't hide those markers from Ruby's keen talent for observation.

Ruby ignored her.

_Hope_.

She felt it, deeply buried and cautious. It couldn't hide from her either. She didn't know herself – not well, not anymore – but she could sense that ember in her chest.

She could _do this_.

Maybe.

No.

_Yes._

Ruby swayed, her weak hand coming up to grab one of the seats in front of herself. Pull. Step. Reach. Pull. Step.

'_Don't stop now.'_

One footfall followed another. The flight attendant moved aside for her, sighing in that way Ruby wasn't supposed to hear but heard anyway. She didn't care.

Vale. Hope.

She could do this. One foot in front of the other. She could feel the other emotions bubbling within her, threatening that tiny ember – to drown and smother it beneath a tidal wave of _breathe_ but she wouldn't let it drown. She could do this.

She stopped in front of the door. The light shone through, bright. A cloudless day. Cool air spilled through, one of Vale's mild winter days. No snow. She knew the weather here like the back of her hand – a memory she'd never even realized she'd not forgotten. Would snow be on the ground, or had it saved itself for later in the season? Would the cafes be open for business, selling their wares? The docks? The shops? Was Beacon alive?

"Miss Rose?" Shut up please.

Crescent Rose clicked at her side, a reassuring presence. It wasn't quite a warm hand on her shoulder, guiding her, but its weight on her hip was comforting. If only it weren't so cramped, she could let it unfurl.

Vale…

Ruby surged forward, sucking in a gasp of the cool air and plunging into the light _band-aid band-aid she could d_o this and suddenly she could see the sky, the tarmac, the city sprawl below the plateau, Beacon standing tall above her head like a shining guardian…

Silver eyes flickered over the view, the many views, the colors. Grey, green, blue, black, white, and so many shades between. Red hair. Pink eyes. She could see the hand waving frantically at her from not so far away but seemingly so distant…

But wait, no, the woman was rushing at her arms now wide open and oh no Dust damnit Nor—

"RUUUUUUUUUBY!"

* * *

**Please leave a review! I'm looking forward to hearing the responses to this chapter, it was quite fun to write. **


	6. Old Faces

**Disclaimer: I neither own RWBY nor its characters, I'm just playing in the sandbox.**

* * *

_If she closed her eyes, she could imagine she was just like the flowers in the garden, rooted in place for all eternity. The sunflowers she'd known for longer than memory had long since wilted, but the husky remnants remained, despite the spider lilies springing up like weeds in their place._

_Move._

_The hinges squeaked quietly as she pushed the door open, the key gifted to her slotting with a click into the lock without protestation. Professor Oobleck had been kind, keeping an eye on the old cottage while she was away. She knew that Zwei would be happy with him – they got along better than she could have dreamed. _

_Dust coated every surface. The living room reeked of old must and decay. Once, it smelled of rose petals and lilac, and sometimes the sour bite of liquor. _

_Keep moving._

_His room was empty. And clean. So was Ruby's. So was Yang's. Of course they were. Never did the house sparkle and shine as much as when Taiyang had something to worry about. _

_She could still see the spots on the wall, ever so slightly off-color where paint and spackle had been used to fill in the holes they'd created as children. There was the dark spot on the rug where she'd spilled grape juice as a little girl, Taiyang never did manage to scrub that away. _

_And there, the pictures they'd taken together as a family, for the last time. That one of herself, hard at work in the forge creating her beloved weapon. And there…_

…

_She left the house not long after entering, eyes wet and heart clenching underneath its icy shell. The letters clutched in her hands, unopened. Retrieved from the safe, where she knew they would be. She didn't have the heart to read them – nor to stay another moment in that place._

_Not home – not anymore. __Dust,__ where did it all go so very wrong?_

…_Where did she go, now?_

…

_Is home a place? Patch was home, once. I felt safe there. Safe and secure and loved and surrounded by people I could call family. In our little cottage, I could believe that anything was possible, and that the world was just waiting to open up before me the moment I stepped out the door. _

_It's not home now. Not anymore. Probably not ever again._

_I've heard that home can be a person. A bond. That our loved ones are what make a home what it is. Something in that seems right to me. Fitting, I guess. But… where is home for me, then? Is it possible to not have a home at all?_

…_I'm sorry. I hope I'm not too late. The questioning, the doubting, it never stops. It's like a disease, and no one has a cure. _

_So much has changed… and certainty feels like it's in ever smaller supply. _

_Ha… Answer me this, if you're so smart: whether home is a place, or a bond… _whatever_ it is… to where have I returned?_

X_0_X

It was like walking through a dreamworld.

Ruby numbly chewed a mouthful of fresh greens, served to her with a flourish by a smiling Ren.

Just like she'd expected, it was delicious. The Mistrallan's skill in the kitchen was as of yet unrivalled by anyone Ruby knew, and his nutritional acumen was (now) supplemented by a pounded-in knowledge of what actually_ tasted_ good, courtesy of Nora.

It didn't cure her of her daze, but it certainly gave her the excuse she needed to process everything that had happened since she'd left the flight.

At first, she'd been beyond delighted.

How long had it been since she'd last spoken with her friends face to face? How long since she'd last gotten to hear their voices, feel their warmth, bask in their familiar presence?

After prying her redheaded limpet away from her, ribs and weakened arm protesting all the while (_"Nora! Air! Need! Please!"), _her elation came crashing down around her ears with the abruptness of running headlong into a brick wall

Yes, Ruby; how long _has _it been since you last came to visit your friends?

'_How long have you been hiding away in Mistral? Running away from your problems? Don't you think they've missed you? After all this time?'_

'_Shut up,' _she told that part of her, firmly.

That was beside the point. She'd been dealing with those sorts of doubts for years now; they were secondary to the real revelation.

Nora, Ren, they were _here._

She hadn't seen her friends in… seven years now? It felt like longer.

Ren's hair was trimmed short, shoulder length and tied back in a stylish ponytail. Nora was as infectiously bubbly as she remembered, sporting a few crow's feet around the eyes but otherwise untouched by time. Both fit and hale and almost exactly as she remembered of them from before.

More than that, the two were obviously happy.

She could see it in their eyes. Ren's glowed like lotus blossoms in the morning sun, Nora's like glistening ice. In every movement, every loving glance, Ruby could read the contentment they held for themselves. Each marker a testament to the life they'd built for themselves here, without her.

She touched Crescent Rose's folded-up length at her side, where she'd leaned it against her chair. How long had it been? Had they been so happy when she'd left?

Ruby felt like an intruder.

She couldn't help it. She _couldn't._ It would have taken the power of the gods to stop the inevitable conclusions from making themselves.

She _should_ have been at their side from the beginning, growing comfortable in this new city that had sprung up from the ashes of the old alongside them. They had all been a team – family, of a sort. Inseparable. Unconquerable. Loved.

She should have been there – shouldn't have missed all that time, shouldn't have run away, shouldn't have let old arguments fester for so long…

But she had, and still they were happy.

Was… she even needed here? Wanted, even?

They'd been family, but her leaving had severed that connection. Ruby felt the tattered ends keenly, deep within her soul.

The entire walk home, listening to the two chatter on – well, Nora mainly chattering, with Ren contributing in his own sedate way – every rationalization she'd made over the last decade, every justification for missing out on another week, another month, another _year_ of her friends' lives was shoved into the light and she was numbed.

She was uncomfortably reminded that she'd just left other friends behind, and might not see them for just as long. Maybe longer…

Dust, was there _nothing_ she hadn't fucked up?

And being the wonderful human beings they were, too excited by her return and too kind to try and peer deeper into her troubled soul, husband and wife were both oblivious to her inner discomfort.

Nora slammed her open palm down on the dining table. "We have _got _to take you out around the city, soooo much has changed since you were last here!"

"Since so much of the population fled during and after the Fall, a lot of room has opened up for immigrants and entrepreneurs to set up shop and fill in the niches left behind," Ren explained.

"Like that one lady with the huge boobs and six secret boyfriends down on Fifth street! She makes the best pastries – the way she uses cinnamon is just di-vine~!"

"Nora, that's uncharitable." Ren frowned disapprovingly. "She's only cheating with the one other man, not six."

"And how do you know that, mister? I didn't take you for a gossip-monger. Do I need to be worried about the neighbors knowing about my delicates?"

"Only the ones you leave out on the floor for too long. We've established that not picking up after yourself is grounds for retaliation long ago."

"Oooh~ Gonna punish me, Renny?"

"_Nora!_ Not in front of Ruby!"

Ruby… stared.

She had no frame of reference anymore; it had been too long.

The banter, the mischief… she didn't remember it coming so easily. It was bizarre to see _Ren _of all people firing back without hesitation, to see the lightness in his bearing, the openness of his expressions... And the loving glances… The joy…

Her stomach twisted in on itself; it was a struggle to continue chewing.

She'd expected a deluge of memory upon her arrival. That she would drown in the prickly, painful nostalgia that would surely rise up to envelop her. She'd expected anxiety, nightmares, residual grief, and whatever else she'd shoved to the back of her mind over the last decade to rear its ugly head, and that _that_ would be the worst of her problems.

Part of her even expected arguments. Surely, they would have words for her for leaving… words that wouldn't have fit into a letter. Surely…

The last thing she'd anticipated was the disconnect.

Since stepping off the platform she'd been beaten over the head with little else but how _unfamiliar _it was. Everything was different.

This shop that was once a clothing outlet was now renovated into a flower shop. That storefront was converted to a new set of apartments. The docks were now the lifeline of the city, where before they'd been little more than an afterthought compared to the grandeur of Downtown and the airport.

And though she had felt the eyes on her as she followed her friends back to their home, her weapons marking her as a huntress as surely as the predatory grace she walked with, compared to the familiarity she'd experienced in Mistral, they were not kind. They were strangers' eyes, questioning the outsider and her purpose here.

Who was she, to walk among these people like she'd earned her right to live here?

Ruby was the intruder in their midst. It was an alien, uncomfortable situation, not felt for so many years...

She was used to at least being trusted in her role as a huntress. She was the Reaper. A guardian. Aegis of the people, fighting for them because she thought it was right, and recognized for that.

_That _was not something she doubted.

…Was it?

Her eyes flickered shut and she took a breath. No. She wasn't doing this. _'You will be okay,' _She told herself, shutting down the train of thought._ 'You _just _got here. You never expected it to be easy.'_

She _did not_ doubt her role. She _wanted_ to help people. _That_ had never changed.

The people just didn't know that yet, just like they hadn't in Mistral before she'd proven herself. It would be one of the first things she rectified, once she was better recovered.

If she were to stay here – if she was to continue her work here – she _had_ to have a good rapport with the civilians. She'd need to find contacts. Friends. The people had to know their sentinels, their guardians, as she had to know them.

'_Know the people you're protecting. You'll fight harder for 'em that way.'_

"Ruby?"

A heavily calloused hand waved in her face, mere inches from her nose. Ruby jerked back, eyes blinking their glaze away rapidly. "Sorry!"

"Don't be," Ren said, frowning. "You seemed deep in thought. May we ask what's on your mind?"

"Ah…"

Tell them how desperately awkward she felt? That she was in the middle of a crisis of faith? That she had no idea what to do with this strange otherworld she'd found herself within? With these new people? _Them?_

Nora picked up on her hesitation faster than Ren. "Sorry Ruby," she said, frowning. "This is probably all really overwhelming for you."

"We don't want to overload you," Ren chimed in.

"Right." Nora nodded emphatically. "Especially since you're still recovering and all."

Dust, she didn't want them blaming themselves. "I'm fine," Ruby protested, a pink tint entering her cheeks.

"Pssssh." Nora exchanged an artfully exaggerated glance with Ren. "Bags under your eyes."

"Movements kept to the bare minimum."

"Doesn't look like you've gotten a shower in a few days," Nora sniffed.

Ren nodded. "You're free to use ours before you head up to the school if you'd like, by the way."

"And by 'if you'd like' he really means you _really _should take us up on it because you look like death warmed over."

"_Nora."_

She shoved Ren's shoulder playfully. "Oh pish! You might be too polite to say it, but Dust knows a lady could use a shower when she's not at her best. Warm water and a good scrubbing does wonders for the spirit!"

"You guys," Ruby interjected, thumb fidgeting with her silverware, rubbing a single spot until it started to gleam. "I'm fine, really. I don't want to put you out, or to make you worry, or…" she paused. Wait. "Do… I really look that bad?"

Nora held up her hand, three fingers extended. She didn't do much to hide her pitying expression. "Three out of five, honestly. You don't look _awful."_

"But maybe a good soak would do you good," Ren finished delicately.

"Oh." Ruby swallowed. Well then. "I, uh. Might take you up on that then."

Now slightly ashamed (Dust, was it really _that_ noticeable, or— well, they were huntsmen…), Ruby hid herself in her salad. She was fine.

The dressing was good. She half-decent in the kitchen herself after so long cooking her own meals, but she seldom got to experiment with some of the more ambitious flavors she tasted here.

This was fine. Just _fine_.

And now the other two seemed much more attuned to her discomfort, sharing glances while Ruby avoided their gazes. Were they afraid? Worried?

Damnit she'd wanted to _avoid_ this.

"Soooo." Nora broke the silence. "Find anyone special while you were in Mistral?"

Her hand paused midway between bowl and mouth. "Um, no."

"No pretty thing able to keep your attention?"

…She hated small talk. "No, not really."

'_Please leave it,' _she implored mentally.

Ren coughed, stepping in for Nora. "If I could ask you something, Ruby?"

"Sure," Ruby mumbled awkwardly. "Go for it."

"Well," he glanced at Nora. "You never said in your letter. We figured, after so long, there had to be a reason for you to change your mind… but, what made you decide to come back to Vale?"

"Was it work?" Nora added, head tilting to the side. "We thought you'd taken time away from hunting after your ordeal."

"Or that you'd had a falling out with someone back in Mistral."

"But then we found out that Sun was one of the people taking care of you while you were recovering – and couldn't think of anyone else you mentioned in your letters that you were close to."

"So…" Ren trailed off.

"What brings you home, Rubes?" Nora finished.

Ruby ground to a halt whilst they spoke, forced to think by the question; one she didn't have a clear answer for _herself_ yet. There was so much.

Why?

There were too many emotions tangled up within her for it to be simple.

She hoped to discover a new purpose, for one. Padma's words had stuck with her that far.

Hopefully she'd manage to find some closure with the city she'd left behind so many years before, if she could manage it.

Maybe, if things went alright, she might also quell some of her doubts – some of her shame, the _guilt _of leaving behind her family for so many years, if that much was even possible after so long.

But…

But telling them all of that; telling them the reason _behind _all of that – that she'd been torn down to her lowest point in nearly a decade, and that she still didn't feel anywhere close to recovered – well…

She didn't want to intrude.

Some of her feelings crystallized. This was a _personal_ journey for her. Ren and Nora were clearly happy. They had lives. A home. Jobs they enjoyed and a family together with their daughter.

All the things they'd ever wanted since they were left alone together as children.

She would _not_ put that in jeopardy.

So, she lied.

"Nothing like that," Ruby said, carefully.

'_Be confident, be purposeful.'_ Those were the first two secrets to a good lie. Ruby took care not to over-act, while also pushing the emotion she wanted to convey into her words.

They were huntsmen, they would see through all but the best. "I thought that after my accident I should come see you all. My recovery's been pretty slow, and winter in the city wasn't doing me any favors, so it seemed like a good time. I've missed you all a lot since I left."

The third rule recommended sprinkling in a little truth. She _did _miss them all. It _was _good timing to spend her recovery among people she could catch up with after a long time away.

She'd just…

She'd never had that extra push to come back before. All of that was true, except that she'd never stared mortality in the face so clearly, felt it sink vicious claws into her soul and hold tight. She'd never seen it etched so clearly in her wretched reflection before, so much irrefutable evidence of her failure to stand on her own two feet as an adult.

There was motivation, and there was motivation.

They only needed to know the first kind. The second she would hold close, lest it ruin the fragile hope she nursed deep within.

And it worked. Beautiful, wonderful, trusting people that they were, it worked.

Nora smiled softly, dimples showing themselves as she reached across the table to squeeze her shoulder. "We missed you too, Rubes," she said.

Ren mirrored her, a silent but firm presence, and their hands on her shoulders filled Ruby with a fuzzy warmth at odds with the chill she felt in her heart.

It would be worth it. She would get better and make it worth all the pain and dishonesty.

Not wanting them to question her further and feeling heavy with another new doubt pressing on her shoulders, Ruby quietly pushed her bowl forward, thanking Ren for the delicious meal.

At a simple request, Nora cheerfully directed her up to the bathroom where she began to strip out of her clothes to wash and at least fix _one_ of her concerns for the day.

She did not notice the perturbed glance that Nora shot at her back before the door closed, wondering where the cloak that usually rested comfortably across her shoulders had gone.

When she stepped under the steaming water, Ruby had no idea that the couple was deep in conversation at the table downstairs, meals entirely forgotten and frowns pinching their faces with concern.

While she was busy pondering her own life's choices, husband and wife were busy asking themselves an entirely separate question.

What had happened to their friend?

X_0_X

'_It's a wonder Roman Torchwick wasn't ruling over the city wholesale with _this_ one as his right hand.'_

"Seriously not helping right now," Oscar Pine muttered to the second presence in his mind, rolling his eyes as a split second of warm amusement leaked over.

He didn't need the distraction right now, thank you very much!

Older, stronger, and debatably wiser than he had been several years ago, Oscar was well-versed in the art of the chase. There were only three tenets one need follow: Don't exhaust yourself with an ambitious, unsustainable pace, don't break line of sight, and remember to breathe.

'_Bonus points for minimizing collateral damage.'_

"That was one time!"

His mark dashed off down one of Vale's many dingy alleyways, breaking his second rule temporarily before he made the sharp turn after her.

'_The Society for the Restoration of Vale's Parks and Services, evidently. You didn't really have to detour through those freesias, did you? They were coming along so wonderfully.' _

Well it wasn't his fault his pursuit of _that _particularly slippery thug led through that park, now was it? He'd had to apologize for weeks before the chairman stopped sending him those passive-aggressive letters.

Even no he still got the occasional dirty look from a 'concerned citizen.'

But of course, he was only doing his job! Never mind the full breakfast, sometimes you had to break a few eggs to make an omelet! Never mind that Vale was a city where those eggs were already broken, rotten, and smelling like a pub dumpster after a Saturday night! No, protect the damn flowers, Oscar.

'_Well, they were particularly pretty flowers.'_

He got a laugh from his other half as he cursed under his breath again.

This particular area of the city – formerly a part of the Residential District, now long since walled off from the recovering city – was grey, crumbling, and still suffering from a Grimm infestation.

There were rocks all over the streets from where some random explosion or flying chunk of lead smashed into some building, or where some overenthusiastic huntsman had ripped open the streets. Oscar was forced to detour around several impassable obstacles – each time losing just a little more ground.

It was enough to drive him to distraction. Rock. Rock. Pit. Oh look, there were a few Boarbatusk – better get out of the way before they bowl you over! He was too fast for nuisances like those to catch him unawares, but he just knew that his running straight into them was anything but an accident.

His target, Bianca Corallo, was a wily, mischievous sadist. Just the sort to get a laugh out of him staggering into the middle of a Grimm ambush.

'_You know she doesn't like being called that,_' Ozpin chided.

"Don't… really… care!" Oscar panted, sprinting up a flight of stairs after the last glimpse he'd gotten of her fleeing, colorful form.

Unfortunately for him, Corallo was small, fit, _fast_, and slippery like an eel.

One of Vale's many, _many _criminals aspiring to fill the void left behind after Roman Torchwick's empire crumbled around the rest of the city. She'd risen to power through an ample and often arbitrary application of brutal force, ambitious heisting, and balls of steel.

Unlike most of the scum and scrabbling thugs he usually had to contend with, she was also unique in that she was actually having some amount of success in taking over from her old boss.

Hence, the chase.

He reached the third floor just in time to see the flash of wild, multicolored hair vanish through one of the many gaping holes in the side of the building. Cursing, he pressed himself further, dipping slightly into his aura to soothe the complaints building up in his thighs.

'_You shouldn't have skipped leg day.'_

"Shut. Up!"

Oscar turned his fall into a tight roll, compacting his body tight against itself to disperse the force. Thankfully, the ground was relatively free of rocks. Less thankfully, Corallo was nowhere to be seen. "Fuck!"

'_Do you kiss your girlfriend with that mouth?' _

"What happened to you being a wise, immortal being?" Oscar demanded, not for the first time, his mind working overtime. "Did all that go away when you got shunted into permanent shotgun?"

'_I prefer to think that I'm more like the little light on your shoulder, actually.'_

"Hilarious. What do you recommend, then?" He didn't have time for this. He scanned every direction, hoping to catch some sign of Corallo's passing. Too little dust on the ground to note any footprints, and she was too savvy to leave a noticeable trail through the rubble.

'_I recommend you duck.'_ And suddenly Oscar was in motion, Ozpin smoothly taking control like a hand slipping into a glove.

The bullet that whizzed over their head was nothing more than an afterthought as they whirled and set themselves in a solid fighting stance.

Glass shattered above them and they instantly looked up to meet Corallo's dichromatic, mocking eyes. In one hand she held her parasol – frilly, white and pink like you'd see on some vapid little girl's doll. In the other, a long cane lightly smoking at the tip, which she swiftly recombined with her parasol to form a single piece.

She tucked her weapon under her arm, giving her hands the space to gesture at him rapidly. _'ME LOOKING FOR, GEARHEAD?' _

"Corallo," they growled.

'_FLATTERED,' _she signed, fluttering her eyelids. _'YOU MY NAME REMEMBER.'_

Oscar took control back from Ozpin, the rush of sensation barely even fazing him after so many repetitions.

"It's my job," he said. His lips curled downwards into a dark frown. "We've been through this before. Surrender and I can guarantee you a trial before you are sent to prison. Fail to stand down and I am permitted to use however much force I deem necessary to eliminate you as a threat to Vale's security."

Which was to say he'd probably be forced to kill her, if he couldn't effectively cripple her in some way.

Vale was a changed place from before the Fall, after all. The law didn't have time to fuss around with criminals when every day was a struggle to fend off the ever-encroaching Grimm. With every day a new vicious scrap for each and every block, the people – and especially the huntsmen – had quickly lost any and all patience for the unnecessary wrongdoings perpetrated by other humans.

With people like Corallo? Oscar could do essentially whatever he'd like.

He had _standards _though. Standards he anticipated seeing return to the rest of the force, once he could properly weed out the unscrupulous members.

Standards that, unfortunately, made seem like he had his cane shoved up his ass when said aloud.

'_Oscar,' _Ozpin sighed dramatically. _'We've practiced this. You need not sound so stuffy. What happened to all of those action films you've been watching with Amaya? Take a leaf from their book.'_

Corallo evidently agreed. _'CAN YOU BORING LESS? ME THINGS BETTER COULD DOING.'_

'_Fuck both of you,' _Oscar sighed.

The things he did for this city…

With a tiny flick he set off the beacon at his waist – specific to huntsmen working outside the secured sectors so that backup could be summoned where it was needed within minutes. He just had to keep Corallo distracted until backup arrived. Or take her down himself, if he could manage it.

She caught the motion and shot him a mischievous grin, dropping down to his level, knees bending slightly to distribute the force with a minimum of effort. _'YOU FIGHT WANT?' _

He reached behind his waist and grabbed the preternaturally familiar hilt of their cane, extending it to its full length with an elegant flick of the wrist. He'd practiced for hours to get that just right.

'_Vain.'_

'_Ass.'_

Complain about his stuffiness when he read their rights, moan about the time he spent trying to work on improving his cool factor, whine, whine, whine, whine, _whine_. There was no pleasing millennial disembodied soul-companions.

'_Add an extra splash of caramel to our next cocoa and we'll talk.'_

'_If you shut up about my caffeine shots, then deal.'_

'_Acceptable.'_

Corallo was oblivious to their internal dialogue, circling opposite of Oscar while his body simply went through the motions of tracking her movements.

The benefit of having two souls in one body was, at its most basic, parallel processing. Even splitting some of his attention between the fight and Ozpin, both of them were carefully analyzing their foe, drawing on past experiences, comparing those to what they knew of the tricky crime boss, drawing up tactics and discarding them just as quickly.

It began suddenly.

Corallo's body shattered with a surge of flashing light only to reappear behind him. Her parasol swept downwards like a bludgeon. Oscar twisted in place, cane swinging up to deflect it off to the side, pulling his leg up and bending laterally to deliver a powerful kick to her abdomen.

Corallo used the blow to disengage. Her aura flashed faintly, dispersing the force with the same ease Oscar would dispatch a mosquito. Her parasol unfurled to drain her momentum – one of her favorite tricks, he knew. He'd thrown her off of several buildings and tried to slam her into plenty enough walls to learn that gravity and inertia meant very little to her.

The world slowed. Negligible damage, for a first clash. They were just testing the waters. They'd done this enough to know each other well, the others' fighting style. It was almost a "Hello" between officer and kingpin. Did you get enough sleep? Eat a good breakfast? Did you do you warm ups?

'_I'd certainly be disappointed if we died because you skimped on your calisthenics. Oh, what a thought.'_

'_Shut up.'_

Corallo was certainly up to her usual standards. Even as the watched each other, mirrored predators eyeing the other, her smirk faded just a little. Her eyes gaining the sharp glint Oscar knew so well. The bloodthirst roiling just below her skin.

This time Oscar took the initiative.

Corallo's eyes narrowed, so slow. Her fingers tightened. Oscar's footsteps rang with his heartbeat, the world draining of color as his semblance activated.

Time dilation – fitting for a successor to someone of Ozpin's reputation. Useful for battle, where it gifted him with a great boon in the extra time to consider his options. Sadly, his body was caught up in it as well.

If only – he'd be unstoppable otherwise.

'_If that were the case, I do believe Ruby would be after your head for absconding with _her_ semblance.'_

'_She could use the competition!'_ Oscar retorted; eyes locked with Corallo's. He also – ironically – had to be quick. It would be a shame to drain himself prematurely by abusing his ability.

Twitch. Twitch. Shoulders tensing. Her eyes flashed understanding. She knew him. His abilities. What he was doing. She would play unpredictably, just to throw him off. She would block, block again, most likely duck out of the way and disengage. Force him to exhaust himself, not let him get a single hit in.

They'd see about that.

The world resumed its usual pace.

Regardless of his inability to include his body in his semblance's effects, Oscar was fast. Blisteringly fast. Only Ruby, Ren, and a few very other select huntsmen were capable of keeping up with him when he had his blood up.

Corallo was one of those few.

He swept his cane around, forcing her to contort herself backwards to avoid the strike. Her legs lashed out, he skipped backwards. With a series of incredible gymnastics, she leapt back on him. From the front, the sides, from above. She was a whirling dervish – where he put forth his strength she melted away. Where he defended, she refused to meet him.

In that was she was a wraith. Untouchable. Devious. And absolutely vicious where she caught an opening.

But he was a wall in his own right. He didn't take everything she dished out, he caught it, pushed, shoved, and redirected. He and Ozpin combined were capable of vast feats of skill – their strength was their mind and the finesse they brought to the battlefield. Unpredictability was met with precision, and for a time they were matched.

They knew to respect her abilities. She knew enough to be wary of his.

Unfortunately, she knew she was on a timer and broke the stalemate with characteristic bluntness, shattering a few dozen feet away and drawing her gun-cane from her parasol.

'_Ugh.' _Ozpin gave the mental equivalent of a scowl. _'She'd going to make you use it, isn't she?'_

The first shot shattered the asphalt where Oscar had been standing been mere moments before. The ammunition, Fire Dust – he could feel the heat from a dozen feet away. _'You know, not everyone is happy smacking things around until they give up or pass out, aura or not!'_

The second shot whizzed by his head – Oscar didn't bother wasting energy getting away and bent his head to the side. The heat of the shot made his aura above his ear flare into visibility – protecting him from the burn he'd have otherwise received. He shoved his long coat to the side, hand wrapping around the lacquered wooden stock of _his _little baby.

'_It is a perfectly serviceable tactic! Miss Xiao Long just corrupted you!'_

Oscar snorted and drew his weapon from its holster, appreciating for a moment the satisfying weight in his hand. _'It's an extra tool in my pocket. I would _think _you'd appreciate that!'_

The third shot he swatted aside with their cane – his pine green aura flaring at the very tip to avoid detonating the shot on contact. The abandoned storefront it sailed into was reduced to rubble by the shockwave unleashed – Lightning Dust at its finest. In the same motion, he raised his other arm and took aim.

_KA-WHUMP!_

Corallo shattered away from her perch, now crumbling into assorted cobblestone, shattered glass, and shrapnel. _'Perhaps… but did you really have to go with a _shotgun?_ It's so… blunt.'_

'_I told you, I'm not trading Fidelis for a pistol!'_

Corallo was on him in moments, taking advantage of his reduced versatility now that both of his hands were full, and refusing to let him re-holster and regain his edge.

Her parasol jabbed into his guard repeatedly, the sharpened tip doing work drawing energy from his aura reserves. Each pinprick threatened to bust through and pierce flesh as he was forced to fortify each miniscule spot.

He had his own advantages as well. Devoid of other options beside tossing it aside and opening himself up for a new salvo of ranged attacks, Oscar worked to get every ounce of use he could out of it. 'Blunt' or not, a shotgun at close range was a force you had to respect.

More than once Corallo was forced away just to avoid her aura getting perforated with a spray of raw Dust-shot. But after a minute of fending her off Oscar realized with a pause and tightening of his eyes that he could not yet hear the sounds of approaching airships, nor the telltale beep of his beacon alerting him that backup was fast approaching.

'_Where are they?'_

His lips pulled into a scowl, and he shoved Corallo away, gaining himself some breathing room.

She flowed with it, coming to a stop with a flick of her parasol and letting it rest on her shoulder unfurled. The motion was just a little too smooth – a little too smug. _'COMPANY EXPECTING, GEARHEAD?'_

'_I have a bad feeling about this,' _Ozpin hummed.

The world greyed. He needed time to think. He was running low on precious aura, but he had the feeling Corallo didn't intend to freely gift him the moment.

'_Thoughts?'_ Oscar asked, mind racing.

He was not long in waiting. _'She likely predicted this confrontation before she initiated the heist,' _Ozpin mused.

'_Which means she'd also put countermeasures against interference in place.'_

'_Most likely. On the one hand it eliminates the probability of her being overwhelmed by superior force. Her favorite kind of fights are personal one on one duels – her records show a dearth of drawn-out, gang-style fights since Roman Torchwick's demise. Too messy.'_

'_And most of her operations involve concentrated, precise heists instead of the kind of multi-level criminal enterprises Torchwick favored.' _

The old kingpin's records pegged him as very comfortable working with his army of grunts and underlings – taking advantage of their numbers and rudimentary skills to supplement his own fairly mediocre abilities. Torchwick's mind and charisma had been his greatest assets.

Almost the complete opposite of his protégé. She was cunning like a fox and deadly as a striking King Taijitu, but her strength was in her ability to crush her opponents beneath her foot like pathetic insects. She was prodigious among huntsmen – hence why she'd avoided capture for well-on two decades.

'_Indeed,' _Ozpin mulled._ 'She also enjoys fighting you. Much as she enjoyed fighting Commissioner Greyson before he was forced into retirement. Skilled opponents in general appear to be her favored prey.'_

Which meant that…

'_And we've fallen into the trap.'_

The world sped up as Oscar released the spell. Corallo was already sprinting toward him, rapier drawn from the depths of her parasol and glinting polished silver in the bright light of midday.

He was tired. She was fast. He was younger than her, but she had all the powerful vitality of someone half her age. Somehow, despite the multiple hits she'd taken, and all the times he'd drawn the flashes from her aura, she managed to ignore her fatigue and come at him like someone fresh to the fight.

A breath before she reached him Oscar dropped Fidelis and brought their cane up in a defensive posture.

Just in time.

Oscar was forced to draw on every iota of their shared experience as Corallo came at him in a whirling fury.

Unlike before she did not disappear at random, forcing him into constant motion just to keep up with her evasive tactics. Instead she just attacked. Vicious thrusting attacks like before – draining him shockingly quickly of his failing aura reserves – supplemented by powerful cutting slashes that he was better able to parry to the side.

He put in a few of his own hits – the pain of which he could see reflected back at him from her dichromatic eyes – but most of his energy was dedicated to keeping her away, keeping her back, keeping her from turning him into a living shish-kebab.

'_They're still not coming,' _Ozpin muttered in the back of their mind, trying hard to keep the edge bleeding into his mental voice from distracting Oscar from the melee.

Deflect! Deflect! Oscar lashed out with a lateral kick - _'Get back, bitch!'_ – but his eyes widened as Corallo whirled to the side and seized his leg in a vice grip, ripping him off his feet, and threw him off to the side.

'_Shiii-iit!'_

He slammed into a wall. His aura held, just barely, but he had only a moment to process before Corallo was on him and her rapier stabbed forward through his aura and _sonofamotherfuckerthatHURTS!_

'_Oscar!'_

Ozpin took over from Oscar, blunting the sensation of the full foot of cold steel piercing their midsection before it could punch through Oscar's synapses.

They could even feel the reverberations as the blade struck stone, an ominous hum all the worse for being felt so deep inside. The elder huntsman grabbed the weapon's hilt – trapping it, out of Corallo's reach – their other hand dropping their cane and lashing out to seize Corallo's throat in a chokehold.

They lurched forward – both souls cringing inwardly as the pain in their side flared unbearably – and Oscar blindly joined Ozpin in bringing their weight down on their opponent. Their other hand left the rapier to join the first, and the added strength forced Corallo's smaller hands to drop her weapon entirely to fight back. They could feel her clawing at their wrists, nails sharp and drawing blood and struggling against the inevitable as they throttled her.

Her lips worked furiously, gasping for air. The nails dug deeper, her unassuming strength showing in the bruises she created on their skin, seeking desperately for a weakness. To exploit. To break their grip. But she found none.

Her eyes flashed – cold, angry, no – _raging –_ a cornered animal fighting for survival.

Some of her strength slackened and they allowed themselves to hope, just for a moment—

'_Almost… there…_'

—But all too suddenly the weakness vanished – shifted as instinct gave way to intent. Corallo's grip changed, her fingers grabbing their wrist like a vice, her abdomen tensing, her legs tucking in against her stomach as she tensed and_ shoved!_

They went sailing over her head to land hard on the ground. Oscar cried out – lancing agony shooting through them as the rapier dragged on the asphalt and ground and cut against their innards.

For a moment, they simply lay there. Their body alive and burning with pain. Their minds a rushing tempest caught along in it. They could hear the sounds of Corallo retching behind them, her heaving, labored gasps. She wouldn't take long to get back up – unlike them she still had the aura reserves to spare on healing.

Their heart pounded. Their breath was a harsh rasp. Blood soaked hot and thick through their clothes, fast enough for their self-preservation instincts to start flaring.

They had to get up.

Get up.

GET UP DAMNIT.

'_Fuuuuuck that hurts!' _Oscar groaned, rolling to their side and taking a bit of weight off of the blade. He froze again as the burn turned to lightning – gravity pulling the heavier hilt down and momentum shifting the blade along with itfuckfuckfu_ckSTOPTHAT_!

'_Dust, why does this hurt so much!' _Oscar demanded blindly. _'Is this supposed to be normal?'_

'_This is…' _Ozpin grunted._ 'Not… The worst… I've gone through… Unfortunately… But quite normal… As far as impalements go…'_ He seemed to be recovering much faster from the shock than Oscar. _'They are… almost _universally_ unpleasant… But at least nothing vital appears to have been hit... This time…'_

Fair enough, but that wasn't much of a mercy _right now. _He could be grateful for small mercies later when he had time to work through all of this. Time, and the benefit of painkillers. As well as twenty hours of solid rest to regenerate his aura.

And probably a good surgeon.

But right now? He could cheerfully throttle Corallo again in retaliation.

'_Can you take over?'_

The older soul did, wordlessly, moving their body inch by labored inch as Oscar retreated into the distant mist of their shared psyche to regain his bearings. He would normally be okay with taking a heavy hit. He'd managed before. Multiple times.

He'd never been _impaled_ before, though. He needed a moment to process that.

Corallo didn't intend to give them that much, however. Just as Ozpin managed to force them to their knees, they registered the sound of her approaching footsteps and had only a moment to register before she was at their side, her hand wrapping around her rapier's hilt one last time and yanking it out.

To her credit, it was fast.

Such fine distinctions were – in that moment – lost on the two huntsmen. But it _was_ something. Ever the stoic, Ozpin refused to howl like Oscar wanted, but their trembling increased to a wracking shiver-shuddering.

'_Beep! Beep! Beep!' _Their beacon chose that moment to start registering approaching reinforcements.

'_Great timing guys…' _Oscar muttered, reaching feebly out to their body to start contributing once more.

Dust almighty it hurt but he was prepared now.

Ozpin surrendered the reigns as soon as Oscar had a sufficient grasp of himself to keep from curling up into a little ball once more. Nevertheless, he wrapped their arms around himself – noting distantly the steady stream of hot, sticky blood spreading from the wound. He pressed down harder, hoping to stem some of the flow.

It worked, to an extent. Assuming Corallo didn't kill them outright, they had a decent chance of surviving the blood loss. That was somewhat comforting.

He looked up and met her eyes, hoping to see some hint of her intentions. She was as unpredictable in reputation as she was a fighter. They knew there was every chance her whimsy might be a boon to them. That there was every chance she would leave them alive, even if just to guarantee a future rematch.

Her smirk was missing. One hand rubbed her throat sympathetically, massaging the damaged tissues even as her aura shimmered over the dark bruises quickly forming. Oscar knew that the damage would quickly be repaired – but the blood that actually caused the discolored spots would take a little longer to vanish.

Aura was more efficient when it wasn't attempting to dispose of waste material. It took more energy than someone in the middle of combat was normally willing to waste. The fight might have been over, but Corallo didn't strike Oscar as the type to care too much about such superficialities.

Her eyes never left them.

Ozpin was far better at reading others than he was – such things were never very high up on his list of priorities. But even Oscar could see the wariness etched on her face.

'_You surprised her,' _he told Ozpin.

'_She thought you were defeated. She didn't expect such swift retaliation.'_

'_Her mistake.'_

They didn't have it in them to repeat that feat. Their remaining strength faded with each beat of their heart – each spurt of blood leaving their body and wracking it with pain.

Oscar let their shoulders slump just a little, chin dipping to Corallo in a gesture all huntsmen knew well: _'You've won. For now.'_

There was the smirk again. _'GEARHEAD DONE NOW?'_

"You've won," Oscar repeated, an edge to his voice. "Stay and gloat – and get arrested for your troubles – or get out of here. You'll slip up eventually."

'_AND GEARHEAD THERE WILL BE. ME SURE.'_

He narrowed his eyes but said nothing. She knew him well.

Corallo sniffed – a movement pantomimed to resemble more of a snicker. Though he could see how delighted she was with her victory – her teeth flashing just a little too much, a bounce in her step despite the fatigue she would be feeling – she still kept a fair distance between herself and him.

Ironically, in victory she was less arrogant than before the fight began. Ozpin fed him his own observations: the genuine cheer in her eyes, the imperceptible sway to her hips as she twirled around, her smirk was gentler – no, softer.

He didn't think Crema had a gentle bone in her body.

It was a good look on her regardless. She was proud, but it was the delightful pride of a student succeeding where they hadn't expected to. Ozpin knew _that _look well enough to recognize it on sight.

'_She would have made an interesting student.' _

'_Glynda would hate you for thinking it.'_

'_True.' _The thought amused Ozpin so much in spite of himself he didn't quite care. Or perhaps it was the relief; they would live to see another day.

'_Beep! Beep! Beep!' _

Corallo's eyes dropped to his waist, noting the quickening flash of the beacon. Her time was up.

She clipped her parasol to her waist – the better to free up her hands and gave Oscar a mock bow. _'WAS A GOOD FIGHT. ME LOOK FORWARD TO YOU HEAL. REMATCH.'_

"This isn't a game," Oscar scowled.

'_NO? MAYBE. BUT FUN!' _She smirked and blew him a kiss. _'BYE BYE! _

She shattered away, her false-reflection dispersing into glistening shards.

The moment hung for a while before Oscar sagged and gingerly lowered himself to the ground. His knees ached and his side had begun to settle into a steady, painful throb punctuated with the sensation of superheated needles sinking in every time he moved their hands. _'Well, that went about as poorly as it could have.'_

'_Cheer up, Oscar. You got a few good licks in.'_

'_Thanks. I'm comforted. Really comforted right now.'_

'_But look on the bright side, you're not dead!'_

'_I will be once Amaya hears about—'_

The air above them shattered once more, and Oscar craned his neck to see what Corallo wanted now, mere moments before his backup arrived.

It wasn't anything much. Her hands flew, and as he realized what she was saying Oscar groaned.

'_Told you.' _Ozpin chuckled despite himself.

'_Shut up.' _He was so done for the day.

'_AND REMEMBER NEXT TIME, GEARHEAD. MY NAME NEO!'_

X_0_X

The airspace around Beacon Tower was crowded with a dozen cranes gleaming all manner of rainbow-hues.

It had once been the pinnacle of Valean architectural achievement and host to one of Remnant's precious CCT nexi, making it the backbone to modern society, the flow of information between the four kingdoms, and lasting peace.

The Fall broke that backbone, and Vale had been reduced to a crippled kingdom in exile.

The last time she'd seen it, only the floor of Headmaster Ozpin's office and all below remained – the entirety of the clock and bell mechanisms above it lay scattered across the campus' grounds like discarded toys. It remained the emblem of Vale city, only then, instead of a symbol of strength, knowledge, and cooperation, it had represented failure. Decay. Ruin.

But now? Rebirth, it seemed, had come to Beacon.

Whining machinery broke the tranquility of the grounds. The gruff calls of shouting foremen echoed off the buttresses and towers and walls that made Beacon a fortress in its ancient heyday. Power tools roared, fastening rivets, tightening screws, welding, splicing, repairing, building.

Construction equipment marred the vast, green lawns of the campus grounds, either filling up corners with assorted dusty bricks and raw material or laying on the grass unused for the time. Discolored patches revealed where some of the pallets had once rested; the earth was misshapen with tracks and ugly holes, and in many places besides the grass was dried out and rotten.

The gardens, which had once been world famous among botanists for the skill and care that went into their upkeep, had been left to seed, and were now overgrown with tough, thorny weeds.

Ruby could even spot a few of the places where marks of the Fall remained visible: there was the spot that a Paladin had crumbled to the ground and crushed a façade. There was the pit where one of the transports disabled by the Griffon horde had crashed. There was the spot she'd carved Crescent Rose into the stone tile path to halt her momentum after an Ursa Major slugged her in the gut, and the scorch mark a few feet further down; where she'd sent herself flying back at the beast.

Beacon tower itself, surrounded by colossal, smudgy, colorful steel cranes – each hard at work lifting up the vital machinery, electronics, and raw material necessary to restore functions to the CCT components left in ruins – seemed to wear a cast of iron, propped up but never quite giving the impression it was fully defeated.

The tower stood tall. Like the rest of Vale, it too was healing.

She ignored Ren's hand on her shoulder, her hand clenched at her side missing the familiar weight of her scythe – she'd left it behind with her other things – because, despite it all, she could only feel the deep ache within her chest.

Despite it all, it was still beautiful. It was still Beacon Academy.

And all too suddenly, she was elsewhere. Else_when_. A faded tapestry spreading out before her, the colors mu_ted, the sounds dimmed. _

_She was running after streamers of long silver-white hair, the splash of scarlet something she was distinctly _not _used to seeing flare out behind silver-shod feet. "Weiss! Get back here with my cloak! I didn't say you could—"_

"_HEY! LOOK EVERYONE! I'M RUBY ROSE! I CAN'T STOP RUNNING AROUND LIKE A _CHILD_ BECAUSE I'M HYPERACTIVE AND LOVE BEING A PAIN IN THE BUTT TO MY TEAMMATES EVEN THOUGH I _SHOULD _BE ACTING LIKE A RESPONSIBLE HUMAN BEING!"_

"_I told you!" she shouted back. She hadn't meant to forget! "I'm sorry for forgetting to tell you about the due date getting changed for our project! Weiss!" _

_Her prey – the heiress-turned-dirty-thief – turned back to shout over her shoulder. "I CAN'T HEAR YOU BECAUSE I'M TOO BUSY BEING RUBY RO— ACK!"_

_Ruby winced as her partner went skidding along the grass. That had to have hurt…_

_She eyed the damage with apprehension. No doubt she'd have to spend a good hour working the stains out of her gorgeous signature cloak…_

_Oh, and Weiss too._

"_Oh Dust, Weiss! Are you okay?!"_

_The heiress groaned pitifully and spat out a mouthful of turf. "…Ugh… Heels… Were a bad decision…"_

Ren gave her a little shake. She'd been rooted in place far longer than the expected 'dewy-eyed nostalgic glance' really called for.

"Ruby? Are you okay?"

'_No,'_ she thought as the ache in her chest deepened. _'I'm not okay.'_

She'd been seeing ghosts since she walked out of the door, the sights and sounds and smells a threshold into a past that existed only in her memories.

"I'm fine, Ren," she answered aloud. "Just… remembering."

The skin between his eyebrows scrunched up subtly. "Do you need a minute?"

She needed a lifetime. "No, let's go."

Ruby pulled up her leaden feet and there were no more questions.

Ren led her along, though Ruby could remember very well where she was going. The teacher's lounge had not moved since the Fall – it was still up the central staircase, a left and then a right, and in the room with the glass panes to the left of the door.

She would never forget it, what with how many times she'd chosen (been forced) to appeal to her professors for help when the workload became too much to handle. For the same reasons, she knew each individual route to the staff's personal offices as well.

It wasn't anything a normal student would struggle with. Part of her still felt a touch of shame for that. Beacon was a rigorous institution – far more so than the smaller schools scattered throughout the kingdoms – and mediocrity was weeded out from the beginning.

For someone skipping two entire _years _of content, though? For someone as young as she'd been, and as disinclined to the mountainous class work?

It had been overwhelming, hence the need to ask for assistance when her team couldn't buoy her up anymore with study sessions and crash courses in all the material she'd missed out on.

But she was distracting herself.

Ruby was going to meet her professors again.

Her _old_ professors, who were now strangely enough her _colleagues_.

And what had changed with the older men and women (wo_man_ – she'd heard that Professor Peach returned to her native Vacuo after the Fall) she'd looked up to as her mentors? Would Professor Port still be boastful? Was Glynda turning grey? Had anyone thought to give Oobleck decaf? Would they have advice for her?

Everything else was already so different. How could she hope to keep up with it all?

"Ruby!"

Silver eyes widened and she flinched. A new-old doubt flared.

She'd almost forgotten about Jaune. Or, she'd almost convinced herself to not think about him, but now it was too late for that.

There was only one question she had for him: would he still be angry with her?

Before she turned, the memory of their last argument flared.

…_He cut her off mid-sentence, torrential blue eyes cutting through her fury like a blade. 'STOP!'_

_He turned away from her, leaving her with fists by her side, fury and shock ringing like the burst remains of pounding artillery in her ears. So much she could say – so much she _wanted_ to say; to _scream_ at him until he _understood,_ or until she could _make_ him understand!_

_He struggled for words, however, clearly disinterested in what those things were, before finally, through clenched teeth, his voice ground something substantial. 'I can't—'_

_His fists clenched, his metal gauntlets creaking. _

'_No,' the last of the control slipped from his voice; a hidden fuse finding hidden fuel. Ruby's blood chilled as he turned to look her in the eye. 'Get out… Now.' His voice rose to a peak, until he was shouting. 'Get out. GET OUT!'_

_And eyes wide, her hurt and fury drowned out by fear and shock…_

—_He'd looked at her like they'd never be friends again—_

…_and the remainder quickly chilling to the bone, Ruby turned and fled._

It was a physical effort to fight the nostalgia of the moment and turn toward him. Her feet were fastened to the ground. Her blood was cold. Her heart raced; for a moment Ruby feared it might drag her down into a raging sea of primal fear and panic again, and that this time she might not be able to haul herself out.

It echoed: was he still angry with her? Why wouldn't he be? What possible difference could time make? Distance? It was Ren and Nora, but worse, she couldn't lie herself out of it she couldn't this would go so badly she—

She was afraid to have an answer _so soon_.

It was far too soon – there was far too much, could she even hope to—

She found herself crushed in an embrace.

Strong arms, muscles corded like steel wire, the faintest hint of sweat and apples; the remnants of a day training in the yard, or demonstrating in a classroom.

Ruby looked up to meet the sapphires twisted upwards in a giddy smile.

"Jaune!" she coughed, struggling for breath. "It's good… to…" Okay, not working. She couldn't breathe! "You're squeezing a little too hard, Jaune – too much armor!"

She punched his breastplate ineffectually – it was heavy, polished white steel trimmed with bronze – and he got the message. Her ribs breathed a sigh of relief.

"Sorry! I got excited," Jaune laughed. He reached out to grab her shoulders, giving them a squeeze. "It's just been so long!"

"Yeah, it has," she rasped, eyes wide and fingers clenched as roiling emotions frothed within her. Her eyes were trying to bend the world into the shape of a fish-eyed lens; no doubt in league with her raging pulse.

She fought them back. Now was _not _the time to break down because her body decided she could have an anxiety attack.

_Not now._

'_Dust…' _she growled to herself._ 'Compartmentalize. You're going to drown if you keep this up…'_

Stop. In. Out. Breathe.

Again.

They were staring.

She breathed anyways.

In… Out…

Ruby recovered enough to look back up at Jaune. And immediately her head tilted to the side as she properly _looked_ at him, underneath the gleaming shell he'd encased himself in.

He'd… grown. Not in height – he was a tall man already, towering nearly a foot over her head even with the benefit of heels back in their Beacon days – but rather in bulk. The arms that had been her prison mere moments before were thicker – and covered as they were in polished white plate had all the appearance of a knight snatched straight from the old tales. The same went for his chest and upper waist.

No scars she'd never seen, hair still the same, short, choppy length, and his chin covered in a fine layer of stubble… Her brow furrowed, finding his waist. Crocea Mors seemed to be in fine condition, all of it gleaming white steel contrasted against the softer, decorative bronze crossguard.

Too clean. Too solid.

Everything told her that Jaune was in fine form. Probably hitting his stride as a huntsman and equipped with the best arms and armor Remnant had to offer. Now that he had a daily serving of students to keep up with, and skilled colleagues to hone himself against, he would be more formidable than ever as well.

She saw before her a huntsman ready to meet all the trials and challenges thrown his way, standing leagues above where he'd begun so long ago… But…

Wait. Her eyes narrowed.

Where was the sash?

Her eyes flicked upwards, lips parting slightly to demand an answer, and met his eyes at last.

_Cold-cut sapphires._

'_GET OUT!'_

The question died in her throat.

He stared back, giving her the same examination. His brow was tight, the joy draining, making way for concern. His lip curling downwards. His eyes on her shoulders, on her waist. The beginnings of a scowl pulled down her own lips. She felt a chill she hadn't with Ren and Nora.

Something flickered deep inside those sapphires; something dark and wary, yet it was tempered by something else. Something hard, yet strangely hesitant. Like she was staring into the eyes of an animal not yet sure it was ready to approach. To trust.

_Cold-cut sapphires, boring into her feeling them on her back as she fled on aching feet. Down that endless stairwell through those crumbling halls – away. Far away. Far enough not to feel those eyes on her any more, never feel those eyes again, the judgement, always staring blue green gold grey brown red go away she could still feel them on her go away go away GO AWAY!_

'_Dust!'_ Ruby stuffed the rising tide back down. She was suffocating again, her pulse beginning to race, to undo the work of the oxygen she'd taken in.

The questions finally started to pile up, more than just the one.

What could she _say?_ After so many years? She could feel his silence like a physical wall, or a chasm between them. His judgement, the hidden predator in the shadows, his anger. How could she break this… this barrier between them? Had she let the old wound fester too long?

_What could she _do?

…_Fearfearfear go away go away GO AWAY!_

…They'd been best friends. Leaders together in their school years and sharing the role in Mistral. They'd seen some of their highest highs, and some of their lowest lows together.

Sometimes she'd felt like she'd known him like she'd known her own team. She'd known what to say to wind him up, make him laugh, frown, sag or smile. And she'd known he could do much the same with her.

_What did he see in her now?_

"So!"

They both jerked.

Ren stepped between them, putting an early death to their not-a-standoff. "I have no desire to intrude on you two catching up," he said (too) lightly, shooting Ruby an apologetic look. "I'm sure there's plenty to talk about! But I don't believe we should keep the faculty waiting?"

He phrased it as a question, but Ruby and Jaune stared at him in silence until the Mistrallan started to fidget. Given it was Ren they were talking about, that was quite the accomplishment on their part.

Another moment passed and Ren's smile grew more brittle. He spread his hands, his expression turning just the tiniest bit pleading. "Guys?"

Ruby shook herself. "Right." Now wasn't the time to question whether or not her friend was still her friend. Poking _that_ Ursa could come later. "You're right. Faculty. Gotta meet my new colleagues, right Jaune?"

She hid her hesitation behind a smile, lightly jabbing her elbow into his arm. She pretended not to notice the slight flare of aura as she hit armor and pins and needles shot up her arm.

His aura. A white veil that whorled and danced like light through water. A manifestation of the inner self – the soul – that only flared as a defensive measure.

His smile was just as plastered as her own. "Right."

Her stomach twisted.

_Later._

Ruby pulled her lips wider and twirled her finger. "Lead on, Ren."

As they fell into line behind Ren, they listened to him comment – at first warily, but with growing confidence – on the current state of affairs at Beacon and how far the repairs were coming along and oh there's the thing An was going on about! Ruby steeled herself while only listening with half an ear and ignored the confused, _intense_ stare burning into the back of her head.

This was home now. She would make sure of that. Everyone felt uncomfortable and nervous moving into a new home, right? Everyone dealt with these messy, painful emotions when they met up with old friends, _right?_

The traitorous part of her mind wasn't so sure.

'_Welcome to Beacon…'_

X_0_X

Neo's throat still twinged with the echoes of faded pain as she stepped out of the shadows behind a few of her subordinates, the faint illumination given off by her semblance hidden away behind a few strategically placed shipping containers nearby.

Those, she'd decided, would always stay far enough to avoid giving any eavesdroppers an easy chance to listen in, but close enough to make her quiet entrances possible. After all, how could she possibly be expected to get rid of one of her favorite pranks?

She stepped between them on silent feet without preamble.

Her lieutenant – a short, meek looking doe-faunus with her lower face hidden away behind a grey scarf – yelped and drew her weapon before she realized just who it was that appeared out of nowhere. "Boss!"

Neo hid her smirk and pretended not to notice the pistol just a few inches from her gut. Appearances and all that. 'STATUS REPORT?'

"I, ah, sorry Boss! I, we—"

Neo rolled her eyes and whacked the girl over the back of the head.

She'd picked her right hand well enough – she'd never be cut out for combat or intimidation, but when Neo wasn't fucking with her, she had a sharp mind. Her innocent looks distracted from her cunning, and the ruthless intelligence she had sequestered away for Neo to exploit.

The girl had a terrible stutter though, when she was caught off guard. Woe to be her, it amused Neo to no end.

The girl coughed awkwardly. "Um. Status report. Right." She straightened. "While you were out chasing down Pine, we completed the heist. During the crossfire with some of the PD we lost one of the containers of Dust, but the rest is already on its way out of Vale to our warehouses down the coast."

'TRACKED?'

She nodded. "We're sure. It was too public an operation to avoid. Do you want us to remove the tracker and reroute the cargo, or let it sit?"

'KEEP. WE GIVE RIFT NICE SURPRISE. THEY LOOK FOR DUST, THEY FIND DUST. THEY FIND CHARGES, FIND OUT WE TRICK THEM. THEN THEY WONDER WHERE REST IS. FUNNY, NO?'

Rift was one of the many smaller cities scattered along Sanus' northern coast, nominally under the jurisdiction of the kingdom of Vale. In the aftermath of the Fall they'd enjoyed a long decade of functional independence. The coastal city, situated as it was at the mouth of an inlet and partially dug into a tall, stony mountainside, was an excellent hub for black market activities, being near enough to Vale for the survivors to take advantage of (or flee to), and near enough to Vacuo's primary shipping lanes to receive a steady influx of materiel and restricted 'merchandise.' With the labyrinthine tunnels running deep into the hills, it was also a smugglers paradise.

Neo's operation had several warehouses in the city that the Vale Council was keenly interested in. Riftan officials, on the other hand, were more than happy to leave them untouched as long as no exceptional cause for raids was given – the underlings she'd set to manage the branch were generous in their donations to the city council, after all.

With the tracker on the cargo, the Vale PD would have their excuse to conduct _their_ raids. They would find it chock-full of smuggled Dust. They would find several IEDs scattered through the warehouse. And Neo would laugh at the collective coronary they would suffer, knowing that they would only discover how much of it was counterfeit days after the fact, while the legit score was far away.

All according to plan.

She profited, Rift would receive a messy reminder that her operations were not to be touched under _any_ circumstances, the Vale PD would be further frustrated and – if fortune was kind, down a few officers – and she could rest satisfied, knowing she'd managed to infuriate Gearhead Pine even further. Four birds, one stone.

Roman would have called it an efficient use of resources. Neo just preferred using explosive stones. It worked either way.

That left one more thing. 'DAMAGES?'

"We've reports of three civilian casualties. One is already slated for release from the hospital, the other two died on-scene. We're in a bit of trouble with the locals in Slate District; couple of our contacts are saying they're cutting ties on account of it."

Neo touched her chin in thought.

Only three? She'd been expected upwards of a dozen when she planned the operation out. The death toll being so low was either good luck or spoke to her underlings' restraint.

…

Probably the former, now that she thought about it.

Right then. The second tidbit was more important though. Contacts didn't grow on trees. 'WHY?'

"One of the women killed was pretty well-liked. Fancied herself a humanitarian. Had some cash from an inheritance she liked to spread around. Doesn't seem to be more than that."

Neo cocked her head to the side, running it all through her head and ignoring the wary glances her lieutenant exchanged with the other grunt beside her. Worried she would be frustrated by the setback? That she would take it out on them?

Hmph. 'FINE. FIND NEW CONTACTS OR GET OLD ONES BACK. WHATEVER MEANS. ME NO CARE.' Her subordinates had so little faith!

While annoying, those were acceptable losses, and inevitable when her operation slipped up.

Killing important people _always_ created complications. Resentments, grudges, even vendettas if she were especially unlucky – _those_ were the kinds of things she would be displeased to hear about. A few lost contacts was fine. She would lose some maneuverability in the short term, a bit of lost profit, but that would be made up once the Dust sold.

Simplicity itself. A good day's work – _and_ she got a good fight out of it.

Her hand rose to rub at the tender skin where Pine had throttled her.

A good fight indeed. She'd never in her wildest dreams thought to drag such an immediate, _violent _response from the polite, by-the-books huntsman. Never.

Honestly, she'd been astounded for just a few seconds before she regained her bearings at the buried rage – the ancient _fire _glaring down at her – and the iron-hard fingers cutting off her oxygen supply.

The reason was simple enough: Neo lived for moments like that.

She would have never thought to prepare for such an eventuality. It was never in the cards. For just a few moments her blood had thrummed, and she'd felt that ecstatic tingle of joyful _life_ as she threw him off of her and regained the dominance she pursued in a fight.

'_Ah, Pine,' _Neo thought with a soft smirk as she gazed down at the map of Vale spread out before her. _'You'll be worth seeking out again. I can't let you get away from me that easily.'_

She refused to let such talent escape her. Nor would she let him cool his heels forever – she'd made that mistake once with the last Commissioner and didn't plan on repeating it. Allowing Pine to go soft would be like letting an exquisite wine go to waste on a trashy frat party.

In fewer words (and without the hangover); a disappointing waste of potential.

"Boss?"

'WHAT?'

Weren't they done yet? She was well aware her lieutenant was still speaking, going over the numbers, the stratagems that would further her growing criminal empire's prospects in the ripe little gem of Vale, and the double-dealing and underhanded tactics. All the things Neo didn't give a damn about.

They were all well and good, as far as she was concerned, and they had their place, but she delegated for a reason. Neo was no Roman.

She was happy to leave all of that to her lieutenant and be the unfailingly deadly, terrifying kingpin. After all, who was a bigger target than the lynchpin holding it all together?

That was exactly how Neo liked things to be. Bigger target, better enemies, better fights.

"There's one more thing, rather unrelated. You asked to be kept abreast of all huntsman traffic in and out of the city?"

'YES.' She motioned impatiently for the girl to continue.

"We received reports from our contact in Mistral United Airlines that three have crossed the border into Vale. One is already departed to Vacuo, the second is visiting relatives in the Port District, but the third…"

Neo snatched the memo from the girl's hands, breaking the seal and scanning over the contents.

Interesting…

'WE HAVE SOMEONE IN BEACON?'

"Not at the moment. They're notoriously strict about their security. We've been making inroads with some of the construction crews, but Atlas screens everyone working there on account of the CCT." Her lieutenant seemed more than a little put out by that fact.

That was a shame, but it certainly made the game more interesting.

Ruby Rose – Little Red the Reaper – was here in Vale? After almost ten years sequestered away in Anima? _That _was news Neo hadn't expected to see when she'd woken up that morning.

Oh, she'd heard about Ruby. Her reputation as a huntress was as terrifying as it was enticing.

A child prodigy in her field, entered into Beacon by age fifteen against all of her peers. By all means an exceptional student in everything save her academia, and a scythe-wielder at that? Taking up that weapon, one of Remnant's most difficult to master, took moxie that Neo could appreciate, and further, hope she'd one day encounter again.

After all, their last duel on the Vindicator, for all the tension of the situation had added to the encounter, had left something to be desired for Neo. Ruby had been young, then. Untried. Neo had been able to sense the potential there, but it had been of-yet unrealized. The girl had been easy pickings for someone of Neo's caliber…

Well, she should have been.

And yet Neo lost, and Roman's death had been the result.

…_Fingers closing around her throat like a vice – she couldn't breathe she stared up into the green-hazel-gold-flecked eyes of her opponent her enemy and _glared _she struggled against his hands pulling scratching clawing but she couldn't breathe and—NO. THINK. She paused. Her eyes narrowed. She seized his wrists and squeezed, bunched her legs up to her chest and _SHOVED…

Her lips quirked.

…_The girl clung to her weapon over open air, Gryphons swarming below her. She would die once Neo cut her. Maybe she could do it slowly. One finger at a time, relish in the fear growing in the girl's eyes as she lost her grip and vanished into the abyss of Grimm. Maybe she would survive their vicious swarm and hit the ground – it would be a quick death, at least. Quicker than the alternative. _

_Roman monologued behind her but Neo didn't care. The whole world dropped away as she held the needle-tip of her blade at the girl's throat. It would bloom sweet red when sh— WHAT THE, NO!_

The smirk turned to a nostalgic smile.

…_Neo clung tightly to her parasol, fending off the occasional Gryphon too stupid to realize she was a huntress with a weapon in hand, falling or not. The Vindicator died above her, and she watched as Little Red rode her scythe like a pogo stick through the air to the ground. _

_Roman would be dead, then. _

_She didn't like the way her heart panged in her chest at the realization. His charming smile, his charisma, the kindness hidden behind the mercenary exterior…_

_She knew it was there; nothing else could have brought the kingpin around to taking in Vale's lowest rat. To teaching that rat how to live, to love, to breathe combat. She'd become his hand, but he'd become her reason to live. All of that would now be gone with him…_

Alani, her lieutenant, droned on beside her as Neo reminisced.

She owed quite a lot to Roman. Odds were that she would have perished from malnutrition had he not stepped in for the pathetic little mute shivering in the gutter. In retrospect it was quite the unusual gamble for the kingpin to make. She'd been stunted already. She didn't know how to communicate. Young, and a vacuum for precious lien – at least before she started making her own money. She'd hardly been prime underling material.

But he had. And she grew. And he died. And Neo had Ruby Rose to thank for that.

…_It was a tiny grave, unfit for someone as ostentatious as Roman. A simple headstone. "HERE LIES ROMAN TORCHWICK. LEADER OF MEN, FEARED BY HIS ENEMIES, MAY HE REST IN PEACE." She didn't know what dates to append to the stone, so she'd left it blank. Let those who found the tiny copse of trees think he'd lived a long and happy life. That he'd been buried in the middle of nowhere because it was actually a special spot for him. That maybe he'd met his first lover here. Or emerged from humble beginnings from a life in the woods. _

_Something more impressive than the truth. The truth kind of sucked…_

Neo sighed.

She still sometimes visited that grave, but not often. She'd long since moved on. The faint grudge she'd considered nursing so long ago faded away with the knowledge that Ruby Rose was far away and suffering her own tragedies.

That was just karma, as far as Neo was concerned.

She had an empire to build and enemies to fight. Life went on.

But now an opportunity had fallen right into her lap, just as she forced her most recent rival off the playing board. That changed things.

Neo lifted her hand and slashed it across her torso. 'STOP.'

Her lieutenant fell deadly silent.

'BRING MY GOOD PAPER. AND PEN,' she ordered.

"Right on it, boss." The second underling disappeared into the warehouse.

Alani cocked her head nervously. "Do you have a letter to send, Boss?"

Neo had no intention of involving the girl in this, however. 'INVITATION. NEED TO KNOW BASIS.'

This fight would be hers and hers alone. Oscar Pine? He was a formidable opponent with fewer scruples than Neo had been willing to give him credit for before that day. He was fast and wielded a weapon not dissimilar to her own, and he was still someone she would certainly relish fighting again when the time came.

But the Reaper?

Neo rubbed her hands together. _'I'm going to have fun with you, Red.'_

* * *

**Hope you all enjoyed! I've been anticipating releasing this chapter in particular for a good while now; Neo took some research to figure out how I would work in her being mute (I've never been satisfied with previous iterations of her in other stories, honestly). I've settled on a modified version of GLOSS, a rough transliteration of sign language. Most people don't recognize that sign language isn't just translated English or whatnot; it's its own language unto itself. Obviously, I had to settle on an approximation because sign language isn't even standard worldwide in_ our_ world, and I wasn't going to create a Remnant standard. As it stands, I'm quite happy with the result. Please leave a review! I'd love to hear what all of your thought.**


	7. New Faces

_**Disclaimer: I neither own RWBY nor its characters, I'm just playing in the sandbox.**_

* * *

_Ruby sank down on the barstool, eyes already half-lidded with a full day's exertion and a full night's lost sleep. The barkeep tapped the counter just before she could check out entirely. His knuckles made a satisfying crack against the lacquered wood._

"_Hey there little lady." She could hear the smile in his voice, service industry standard. "No need to conk out yet, what can I get you?"_

"_Water, please."_

_There was the raised eyebrow. "Just water? You look like you could use something stronger. No offense." _

_Ruby restrained a sigh. "Just water. I don't drink."_

_He waited, but Ruby didn't move. Her arms were so comfortable… maybe she should just go back home and try making her rounds about the city again tomorrow… They'd see she wasn't just another charlatan… soon…_

_Crack! _

_Ruby lifted her head to look at the offering. Clear and clean, water with ice. Perfect for a midsummer evening. Her eyes flicked up. The barkeep looked bemused, but he had a smile all the same. "Don't usually get people in here lookin' _not _to get buzzed, but hey, I'll take the business. Now how 'bout you tell me what's got you down, little lady? Confession being good for the soul and all that."_

_It was weary, but she smiled._

…

_His name was Grane. _

_Back when we first met, I had just left Vale. The people of Mistral didn't trust me. They thought I was just another huntress there to take advantage of the kingdom's need; someone who would take their money and run as soon as things got hard._

_I _wasn't_. I was there to stay. But the people didn't know that. _

_In the capital city of black markets and vice, their protectors decimated through the treachery of their most trusted public servants not even four years past, they were hurt and angry and tired of being taken advantage of. They weren't willing to give a stranger a chance. Even now, I can hardly blame them. _

_Grane changed that for me. When he heard my story, he helped me. For nothing. No questions asked. _

_He was an established part of the community already, old, wizened in his own way, and well-respected. People were willing to listen to him and his judgement of my character. He got them to _listen_, and from there I was able to prove myself through my actions._

_I still don't know what he saw in me first, what I did to convince him._

_Beginnings are _hard_. It's hard to insert yourself into a new community. It's hard to earn people's trust, especially when they're already wary of being taken advantage of. These sorts of things take time and energy. _

_With Grane's help, it still took nearly two years for the people to really trust me._

_But during that time, I learned that what you gain in earning that kind of trust is worth far more than what you put in. _

_I've learned that time and again._

X_0_X

Bartholomew Oobleck knew what pain looked like.

His home burning around them, the ground groaning – rocking – in agony in the throes of the precious Dust depot detonating nearby, the screams of the dying filling the air alongside snarling hate; these things were formative memories.

His mother and father, lips bloodied, breathing labored, imploring him to thrive in their absence when their village was razed so long ago, the call to action to his story. Fuel for a huntsman's drive, for a humanitarian, for a teacher.

Before the Fall, the image of an ageless man, ever peering back at some time-lost ghost. The hunched shoulders and fathomless eyes, the lackadaisical mannerisms and quiet wisdom, hard-won. Had he known, even then, how fragile his shell seemed to Bart's eyes? Had he known how high was the bar he'd set? How fervently they all sought to emulate his example?

And after… the endless reports. Another huntsman team lost to the Grimm. Another student vanished. The burden laid upon them as the people looked to their protectors…

It turned something jolly in Peter to stone, bowed Glynda's prideful head. He'd bidden a bittersweet farewell to Lori Peach when her indomitable strength finally crumbled and she fled the crushing memories for her sandy homeland.

No amount of japes and laughter with Peter could assuage the memories time afflicted them with. He always knew they fought their own demons; theirs were reflections of the pit within his heart.

Broken mothers and fathers alike, children and friends, their own stories weighty on his ears. He had listened, witnessed, chronicled.

Taiyang's muttered recountings of his failed marriages – Bart had been aghast to hear the forbidden stories even through the cloud haze of scotch shrouding his mind that deadened night.

Beacon. Vale. His home – become a chilling echo of Mountain Glenn, the emptiness resounding like a haunting dirge.

Such things were History. That of those around him, cast in expressions and tears instead of tablets and tomes.

Pain was a record of one's trials. Insofar as history was the study of change, he'd come to understand – and lament – that such change was oft accompanied by great struggle. He'd learned see pain where it hid away, where it was covered up beneath layers and layers of kind words, polite words, emotions and masks – both intentionally and not.

Like joy and peace, sorrow and frustration, pain could convey a stunning variety of information.

And thus it was, thus was evident; like a canker on the tapestry of history, or an imperfection in the lens through which he peered.

She walked in the door and he _saw._

Ruby Rose was in pain.

How could nobody_ else _seeit?

Were they merely acting, pretending not to notice the signs? Perhaps they presumed courtesy, not wanting to pry – but then, she was Jaune's friend, and Lie's too; what were they _doing_?

Would they not be above such petty assumptions? See through such a blatant mask?

Or maybe they _had_ broached the conversation, and found themselves rebuked… He couldn't imagine what fallout that might incur, what damage…

Would she break? Would she burn? He'd never borne witness to the youngest Rose's temper, but if she was anything like her mother…

He paid little attention to the conversation ongoing between Peter and the youngest Rose, only half an ear. It was all courtesy, greetings and frivolities; far less important than the language of her body. To huntsmen such motions and subtleties were a language unto themselves. Something he understood. They were evidence he could observe. Analyze.

Peter – bless him – was happy to take up the slack. "Jaune?" he chuckled merrily, responding to some question Bart missed. "Why, he's been an invaluable addition to our institution! I can't think of anyone better suited to taking over Combat Studies for our dear Glynda!"

Lies. They'd approached Lie first, but he'd declined. Jaune had grown into the position nicely, however, whatever their reservations.

Ruby's eyes twitched to the side. Her smile was weak. Plastered. Her thumbs pressed together, between hands clasped in her lap. The bottle of spirits – a welcome gift from Peter – sat away from her feet, the hands that accepted it had been withdrawn like she'd handled poison.

She nodded – stiffly to Bart's eye.

"I haven't seen him fight in a long time," Ruby admitted. "I can only imagine how much he's improved."

Why was she nervous? Bart was well-aware that Peter could be a bit… much, but it had never seemed to bother the girl before, and the older man's blustering personality didn't blind him to the emotions of others. He was cannier than most took him for.

He caught the beady brown eyes his fellow turned toward him with his own, opaque glasses and cultivated eyebrows hiding the exchange…

Ah. There it was. Validation of his suspicions. Or further evidence – at the least – if he were to make a conservative assessment. A tightening of the wrinkled skin around his friend's eyes:

'_Something is wrong.' _Peter told him.

When she turned away, he gave a minute nod of his head. _'I know.'_

But what was it?

Oobleck turned the information over in his mind with a perplexed, hidden frown. Peter easily changed the subject in the meantime, seeking another angle at which to attack such a quandary as their former student's – no, _newest colleague's_ angst.

"So, Ruby, you must tell me how things are in Mistral these days. We've heard stories about 'The Reaper' even here in Vale!"

…Hm. He wasn't so sure about that line of thought.

Even without the CCT, Beacon was privy to a dizzying quantity of raw information and news, ferried by the most efficient of the kingdom's couriers to make up for the loss in cohesion any sort of lag would create. They knew when the Premier announced new policy. They knew who was getting married and when. Which huntsmen were visiting, and which were staying, and what missions were distributed and undertaken.

The last point being the most relevant, of course.

'_Peter,' _Bart furrowed his eyebrows. _'You know that's not going to go over well.'_

He knew he didn't give his friend enough credit. Peter would have read the same signs he had; he'd have seen the tension between Ruby and her – former? – friends, but then…

To interrogate such a sensitive topic – so soon after a traumatic injury mid-mission, no less! – was folly. Bart was sure of that. What did he hope to gain? Perhaps he was overestimating her reaction, and Peter had seen something he had not.

But no, perhaps not. Waiting for the signs, Bart saw the instant she stiffened with an identical suspicion to his own.

Peter raised his hands up in the air. "Now! Don't think I need to know anything you're uncomfortable with sharing," he chuckled good-naturedly. A show, of course; that glimmer of curiosity in his eyes had the same hard quality too many of their students failed to recognize before he laid them bare. "But I'd hardly have my reputation if I didn't go gathering new stories to supplement Grimm Studies! I'm old now—" he laughed again. "—and students seem likely to convince themselves I'm a liar and a charlatan peddling bluster if I don't give them something fresh to gnaw on every once in a while."

It was an excellent trap, expertly baited.

Peter was as voracious in his curiosity as Bart, but aggressive and canny as a cat in his pursuit of answers, after all. Bart had learned as much of his older friend in the long years they'd known each other.

Where Bart analyzed, Peter hunted. No matter what trouble that got him in.

The question was though, should he let him spring the trap?

The memory stole over him, a staccato flash of nostalgia.

…_A nervous soul indeed. Bart carefully raised his eyebrows as she frantically shuffled through her papers, silver irises wide as Miss Schnee shouted (in a whisper, of course) for her to hurry up – we worked on this all night, Dolt!_

_He smothered a chuckle of his own. Ah, to be young and innocent enough to panic over homework again…_

…No. Bart's eyes narrowed on Ruby as she pressed her thumbs together so fiercely the skin blushed white, her shoulders tightening up.

No, whatever Peter had seen that Bart had not, it was past time to nip this in the bud before they alienated the girl. "Ruby," he started, pitching his voice as a warning to Peter. He would get the messa—

"No."

He blinked. Slowly. And ignored the quirk of Peter's lips as he met the defiant silver orbs burning into him, delivering a message of their own. A warning.

'_I don't need protecting.'_

His mouth closed, silenced. Had she espied their whole exchange, silent though it had been, or had she simply read the room? After a second's thought, he also pulled his glasses down his nose to let her see the blue irises beneath.

He was being a fool. And would be double the fool if he continued forward without affording her the same courtesy of transparency.

Eyes were an important window to the mind, after all.

She didn't take the opportunity.

Instead, Ruby shook her head. Bart could see the fog clearing itself from her thoughts, like a dog shaking off a hard rain. "No," she repeated. She put on a smile and sat up straighter. Her shoulders artfully relaxing in every indication of repose. "It's fine, really. Ask away, Professor."

Quite the actor, when she wasn't distracted.

Choosing to ignore the farce, Peter chuckled merrily. His leisurely bearing didn't change a mote; indeed, he seemed the very picture of relaxation. "Peter, my dear! You must remember that."

Something twisted in Bart's gut. Farce. False. _Why?_

Her smile widened marginally. Unnaturally. "Peter then. Ask away."

For his part, Bart's friend didn't miss a beat before diving in. Bart noticed it, and Ruby noticed it too.

'_Ah.'_

Bart felt sick when he realized that the answer to his question – one of them – lay before him; what less could put such distance between friends and loved ones, than this sort of poor theater?

What a trap they'd fallen into, what a hypocrisy! Fallen to frivolities and games, addressing nothing!

'_Oh Ozpin, what a mess we've made of ourselves.'_

He read Ruby. Ruby read him. Peter read them both and played the room to match. Ruby played along, and while learning everything the two men also learned _nothing._

Bart squinted, casting back through the mist. How long had it been since last he'd seen her? After the Reclamation? Had she mastered this game of subterfuge even then?

He remembered a girl whose voice, pitched higher in the last stages of adolescent growth, cracked through the story of the Incursions of Atlas. He remembered her with hair at her shoulders, but that now clawed at her back in scarlet-streaked locks, an effigy to her sister. He remembered her grief and pain, and the hope he held in his heart that it would not warp her like it had his friends; that just one student could escape the cycle of misery for _once in a gods-damned while_.

If it could be anyone – _anyone_ – why couldn't it be the shining prodigy of Beacon's lost generation? Why couldn't she escape the cycle?

But she sat before him, playing the same games, acting the same part, hiding the same secrets, behind the same masks, speaking the same language of gestures and hidden thoughts.

She was the _same_.

Bart hoped the gentle creak of his heart did not show on his face. _'The wheel turns once more… And we are crushed beneath it.'_

"Oho!" Peter belted out the latest in a series of chortles, oblivious to the dark turn of Bart's thoughts. "Of course, of course! I'll definitely keep that one in my back pocket. It's not often you hear about Griffons growing that large – I've only ever seen three comparable, and those were recluses off the coast of the Muguet Islands!" Peter paused to laugh, before a tiny smirk overtook his face. "But then, those aren't the largest prey you've hunted, I hear." He wiggled his eyebrows at her suggestively.

Ruby's eyes grew just a shade cooler. "I'm sorry?"

'_Oh dear.'_

"Come now, Ruby!" Peter cajoled. "Surely, you've some stories left to tell, though it may not be suitable for the classroom!"

Her voice was flat, controlled. "I'm not sure what you mean."

The tension was thick in the air, so thick Bart could breathe it. Indeed, it filled his lungs like a smothering haze. Agitated his heart. Burnt like acid on his tongue and soured the blood in his veins_. _

Why, why why? He didn't understand.

'_Peter, what are you_ doing?'

The miniscule smirk Peter shot him in response belonged on a wild dog. And certainly, Ruby caught it, as her mouth tightened into a thin line. "Prey, my dear! A huntress is nothing without it, and you were always the most ambitious of my students in that regard."

All of a sudden, Peter's eyebrows shot up to reveal his crinkling old, earth-brown irises surrounded by the whites of his widened eyes. What…?

"Surely," he faux-whispered. "Ruby Rose, the Reaper of Mistral – only just coming into the _prime_ of her life, isn't…" He paused for effect. "–Single?!"

Then, he busted out into a riotous stream of laughter.

Which slowly died down as he realized they weren't laughing along with him.

X_0_X

It was a cold tightness in her chest that prevented her from berating the _stupid_ man for his blunder. She knew Peter was crass, but the nerve!

Glynda Goodwitch did not, though. She paused behind the door, resisting the urge to pound her forehead into the wooden frame and beg forgiveness from her former student; hope her friend hadn't managed to scare the girl – woman – off before she could even get settled in.

"_You, ah, seemed to be infatuated with Miss Schnee during your schooling… 'My most ambitious student…'" _Peter blundered on, giving a nervous laugh inside, oblivious to her spying_. "Erm…"_

Stop while you're ahead, old man…

"_No huntresses in your life, then?" _

"_No."_

"_Ah… don't 'swing' that way after all?"_

"_I don't swing."_

"_Right. Erm. You…"_ Peter paused. Glynda could hear the gears turning – clockwork – casting a line out for some way to defuse the mess he'd created.

It wasn't to be, for he soon gave up with a defeated sigh. "_You aren't interested in romance, are you."_ It wasn't a question.

"_No." _

Glynda's teeth ground together as she turned away, marching straight back up to her office. She would deal with the fallout in the morning, when she'd had a chance to think through her apology and find some way to properly berate Peter for his stupidity.

Her intention – to welcome Ruby personally – fell to the wayside as she passed by a small group of chattering students. They crowded toward the sides of the hall, all talk dying instantaneously as she levelled her glare past their heads.

'…_Don't intimidate the students, Glynda. They must be allowed their time to be innocent… Lest we deprive them too early of that which shall drive and ground them…'_

Glynda suppressed the expected surge of rage – the desire to crush the freshly plastered walls into dust beneath her aura'd knuckles and loose the pressure building behind her temples. Would his thrice-damned advice never cease to plague her?

Silver eyes, cookies, and a cloak… So long ago she'd met a girl. A strange young girl. And those tiny, ridiculous details stuck in her mind like brambles. She'd begrudgingly added that monstrous scythe later, sure it had been the result of hero-worship gone into overdrive.

And had later been proven utterly wrong.

A girl with a light veritably glowing within her. A girl brilliant enough to catch the eye of Glynda's headmaster. Her mentor. A girl strong enough, perhaps, to survive past those first turbulent years with that wonder intact…

What had time wrought on the girl Glynda once knew? Who sat before her colleagues, with her mask and her polite distance and her pretenses?

'_Who are you now, Ruby Rose?'_

Glynda stopped abruptly. The halls were growing cold with the passage of twilight into full darkness.

Gods _damnit_, why did those eyes haunt her so? She'd barely known a thing about the girl, really. She'd had only a year to be her teacher, to see her potential, to hone her into something that could live to see a new dawn… To make all the suffering worth _something_…

Just one year…

CRACK!

'_Damn you Ozpin.' _She snarled in the privacy of her thoughts, the bones of her wrist aching. Plaster flaked like dust beneath her knuckles. _'Damn you for being right._'

X_0_X

Back in the teacher's lounge, Ruby made up her mind. This wasn't working.

She was tired, lost, and desperately in need of some time to screw her head back on tight. She would apologize in the morning and pretend none of this ever happened. She would thank Professor Port for the gift and laugh along with his jokes and be the good colleague and not let her emotions control her so completely.

She would do it without the blood pounding in her veins, or her bones protesting their existence, or her eyes leeching the color from the world.

'_Do it quick, like a band-aid. Make your excuses in the morning.'_

She needn't have worried.

"Ruby!" Professor Oobleck suddenly intervened in the silence. He spoke as though the last few minutes hadn't happened at all, his voice forcibly light. "Perhaps you'd like to see my office? It's been several years, and I'd like to go over the syllabus we'll be tackling the remainder of the year. It would be best if you were acquainted before Monday."

No, she wanted to find her room and lay down. She wanted to bow to the aches growing in her body. She wanted to rest and give in to the anxiety she'd been suppressing all day where nobody could see and worry themselves over.

"Sounds great to me," Ruby replied with false cheer.

"Excellent, follow me, follow me please."

She rose to her feet, almost forgetting her welcome-gift in her eagerness to _escape_.

Weariness weighed on her like a leaden coat. The defeated emotion she saw in Port's earth-colored eyes was like an anvil in comparison. There was so much she wanted to say…

She chose the simplest. "It was good to see you again, Professor."

That would suffice. Apologies could come later, when she could beg exhaustion instead of the truth.

"…Peter please, my dear. Have a good evening."

She could still feel his eyes on her as she passed Oobleck on the way out of the lounge, briefly stooping to grab the bottle and restless energy tight in her shoulders. A little way down the hall, she tensed further, hearing their murmured exchange.

"_That was a joke in poor taste, Peter."_

Professor Port sighed, too quiet for anyone lacking aura-enhanced senses to perceive._ "Yes… I… I know. I was…"_

"_Trying. I know as well, just… we'll talk later."_

"_Will do, old friend."_

Her hand tightened around the bottle's neck. Her teeth clenched. Damnit. DAMNIT. This was exactly what she wanted to avoid – she was here to heal, _not _tobring others down with her!

The door clicked shut as Oobleck slipped out. He joined her in three sweeping strides – even without his semblance to speed him, the doctor was a tall man. For every step, he covered what would take Ruby two.

The older man smiled awkwardly, as though unsure. "Come now Ruby, my office is now on the opposite end of the school. My archives suffered quite the blow with the Fall. I've had to relocate the lot to one of the old store-rooms whilst awaiting their renovation!"

Ruby seized on the safe topic – anything to distract her – letting her gaze rove the walls and floor around her. "Were many of your books damaged?"

Oobleck sighed bitterly, apparently sticking with his choice to ignore the last few minutes. "Many? What wasn't… The skylight was smashed by Grimm and the ceiling staved in besides. One bout of rain and I lost three centuries' worth of records, including all three of my _'Vomer's Sagas.'_"

She gratefully let him talk.

They made good time, even with Oobleck slowing his pace to belatedly accommodate Ruby's infirmity once she was forced to stop to catch her breath. The school itself seemed eager to show itself off to the young huntress, electric lights flickering on to reveal the renovations and restoration work.

She could see where new crossed into old – decades-old lumber and varnish simply had a weight and color to it impossible to match with new material, not to mention the stone and glasswork – but it still felt like Beacon. Where once it was simply regal and proud, now the school bore its scars plain. Now it was defiant.

'_I survived,'_ the stones seemed to whisper.

Ruby let the feeling wash over her in silence.

Sleep.

She needed sleep and in the morning she would feel better. She would be ready, then.

"Here we are!" Oobleck pulled a ring of brass keys from his pocket and unlocked a dark, gleaming door. She could tell from the varnish that it was a holdover from the pre-Fall days, unlike many they'd already passed.

The professor ushered her inside. "Would you like some coffee?"

Ruby nodded absently. The professor's office was a mess. Papers and books were scattered over every available surface, crumpled sheets littering the ground with no particular pattern. It looked like a tempest had touched down in the middle of the room. "Decaf, if you have it. I'd like to sleep tonight."

He turned to give her a flat look.

"Ruby," Oobleck frowned severely at her. "Do I look like the kind of person who carries decaffeinated coffee?"

Her eyes lingered on the frantically scrawled chicken scratch all over the blackboard in the corner. "…You look like the kind of person who mainlines espresso, but I figured asking wouldn't hurt."

The smirk the professor hid behind his hand was not a laugh, but to Ruby it might as well have been. "A very fair observation. Perhaps tea? I have some tucked away in here somewhere."

"Sounds great."

She left him to putter around a decrepit old cabinet while she explored. Her present sat forgotten by a chair.

Despite the obvious chaos and substandard sense of tidiness, Oobleck's office had the sense of a room well lived-in. The furniture was what she expected from a professor; older, wooden – almost antiquated, really. Mostly bookcases, with a few scattered dressers. _W__ithin_ those bookcases though…

Ruby was not a student of history, and was possibly the furthest thing from a scholar, but she'd paid attention in class. Great scholars usually had a specialty – a subject they spent their lives pursuing, dissecting, interrogating every scrap of information pertaining to it. It was a field given to specialization, its champions verging out only in times of necessity. To go very far beyond that was nearly unheard of.

Oobleck's shelves were a study.

There were history texts, of course – '_Imperium,' 'Life Before Dust,' 'Historia – Ruling from on High,' _and an ancient, tattered copy of what she _knew_ was one of the earliest books to record their world's fractured history, simply: '_Remnant'_ – but there were also texts on psychology. Architecture. Agriculture. Books and compendiums of medicine and folklore and more from all over the world.

She pulled a worn tome from its slot, running her fingers over the soft, yellowed pages. _'The Heroine of a Thousand Faces…' _

She'd attempted to plough through it during her school years – a newer edition from the library, of course – but had been forced to surrender once she realized how implacably dense it was.

She flipped through absently and saw that it was heavily annotated; the professor's mangy scrawl contrasted with a dozen different hands, some faded into illegibility, others vaguely familiar in the older, more elegant calligraphy that had begun to fade over the last century.

A tiny smile played over her face. Perhaps not all of Beacon's treasures were lost with the Fall…

Oobleck appeared at her shoulder. "I'm sorry to interrupt your thoughts, but I forgot to ask whether you'd prefer any particular brew over another."

Ruby closed the book and returned it to the shelf. "No, thank you."

"Perfect, let me get you a cup then. I've already finished a batch of chamomile."

She sat down in one of the old leather armchairs around a low table in the center of the room. By the coffee stains and scattered papers, she could tell it was where the professor spent a good deal of time revising. When he returned, two porcelain cups in hand, she accepted hers and stared down into the amber liquid, glad the lighting was too poor to see her reflection. She raised the cup to her lips.

Ahhhh…

When she lowered it again there were only dregs left remaining, and a soothing warmth spread from her belly outwards. Her eyes flicked to the kettle and the professor silently took her proffered cup, refilling it.

"It's good," Ruby murmured quietly, taking it back.

"Thank you," the professor said, sipping delicately – an odd sight to see Oobleck doing _anything_ delicately – at his own drink. "Mr. Arc turned me on to it once Glynda_… convinced_ me to lower my caffeine intake. I do believe it is a carryover from having as distinguished a palette as Mr. Ren as a teammate."

No… there were too many nights to recount any single experience. So many arguments, good-natured and teasing…

Ruby found herself correcting him.

"No. Jaune got that from Blake and Pyrrha, Ren couldn't get anyone to try his drinks more than once," she said, deep in memory. "Pyrrha liked her Argussian Blue, though. And Blake liked Thunderhead Chai. Jaune would try to play the mediator, get caught in the middle and wind up drinking whatever they put in front of him."

She took a longer, slower draught. Her voice rasped as she continued. "He liked having something to wind down with after doing his night training. Even… after."

She felt the professor's eyes on her. She might have rankled, but there was no judgement. Not here, surrounded by the dregs of history. "I see." He didn't apologize. "I hadn't realized it held such significance."

Ruby shrugged. "You didn't know."

The tea relaxed her. Though the dull ache still panged in her chest, she found she could ignore it if she focused on the warmth and the loosening of her muscles. The tea was delicious, lingering on the tongue without overstaying its welcome, and despite the questionable tastes of the brewer, wasn't overly strong.

Without realizing it, Ruby's eyes slipped shut.

It had been such a long day…

"If you would prefer to retire to your bed, I will gladly guide you there," Oobleck remarked, startling Ruby from her growing fugue. He was relaxed back in his seat, playing with the faded lining of the armchair with his thumb while the other hand cradled his drained cup.

Her hand, halfway raised into a defensive posture, fell back to her lap with a soft thump. She hadn't fallen asleep in front of someone in…

She couldn't remember when she'd last let her guard down so thoroughly.

Even before the Fall, it had only ever been with her family. Her team. Nobody else. Huntsmen trained to avoid such dangerous habits. Oobleck was a trusted peer and teacher, certainly, but it still bothered her.

"No, no. I'll be alright. Just had a bit of a long day."

"Well then, if you're not adverse, I'd be happy to answer any questions you might have about your new position. That's an open offer, of course – I'm sure there'll be more in the weeks to come. And I'm sure Peter and Glynda will be more than happy to lend you an ear and some experience should you prefer them."

She thought of Port's quivering mustache, hiding a jolly smile. And his blustering love of stories. _There_ was certainly an inexhaustible source of experience if there ever was one. "Noted."

"Excellent! Have at, then."

Ruby thought for a moment. "What is my room like? Do I have an office too?"

Oobleck nodded. "An office and personal living quarters beside – private bathroom and kitchen space included." He gestured to the cabinet nearby, where the kettle stilled quivered with heat. "I may do most of my brewing in here, but when the cafeteria proves insufficient or it's too late to find a cook in the building, I'm always grateful for it."

She found herself curious. "Do you cook for yourself often?"

"Mostly during late nights," Oobleck said. "I have a… problem with curfews. Time's are I'll have a bout of inspiration when I should otherwise be sound asleep, and before I know it the sun's cresting the horizon and classes are due to begin."

He sighed, and Ruby suppressed the smile she felt creeping up when she heard him murmur, _'Woe to he who forgets caffeine on those mornings…'_

"What do you study?"

Oobleck snorted. "What don't I study? History might seem simple on the surface, but actually understanding what all goes into properly documenting the story of people on Remnant is an effort that transcends even the best of us. Why, just the other day I was compelled to scour the archives for archeological records of _chicken_ bones around Vacuo's oases. Do you know how _difficult_ it is to find records of chicken bones?"

"Pretty difficult?"

"Impossible!" Oobleck huffed. "Nobody tracks chicken bones, no matter how important the animal was to the cuisine of the region centuries ago! It's all about the tombs, the cities, the jewels and the relics and the shiny things buried beneath the earth – nobody goes looking through the midden heaps anymore! Even though that's where all the good finds are to be found!"

There was a hard gleam in the professor's eye that she'd seen once before, when Cardin Winchester decided to try and use History class as a platform to share his opinions… the only day she'd ever seen the professor lose his temper.

Suffice to say, Cardin had been summarily ejected from the classroom (to the relief of everyone else), the lecture was effortlessly shifted to accommodate another lens of historical commentary and analysis, and suddenly students were far more respectful of the quirky man with the flyaway hair.

Ruby didn't know whether or not she ought to be amused that the same reaction could be drawn from insufficiently thorough archeological practices.

She interrupted him before he could continue his tirade. "What did you need to know that needed records of chicken bones?"

"They're excellent markers of human and faunus presence in a given area!" Oobleck switched into his_ unique_ lecturing voice, syllables coming in an unstoppable flood. "They were an important staple of the Vacuoan diet before even the earliest Sahellic settlements were founded and remain so to this day! The amount – and quality – of bones from our food can give us insight into what our forefathers ate, and how much of it, and what their lives might have been like, no matter how inglorious the process may be, or how mundane the prize!"

He paused. "And Peter challenged me to justify rooting around in ancient trash for bones that, to quote him, 'you can't even properly suck the marrow from' when I was complaining about it."

"I guess other people agree with him."

Oobleck pouted at her, and she couldn't fight her returning smile.

They returned to talking about her new position, and Ruby soon found herself inundated with information she was sure she would forget, but that she tried to burn into her memory anyways. She had no desire to make a fool of herself in front of the students or her peers.

Occupied with their conversation – and with the unexpected pleasure of a burgeoning friendship – Ruby barely noticed the tension in her shoulders draining away. When the professor – Bart – escorted her to her quarters far later than either had intended, she slipped out of her clothes and underneath the sheets with a sigh, quickly succumbing to unconsciousness.

The nightmares still came, but she was untroubled by any anxiety attacks.

X_0_X

"Dad!"

With a wild grin, An Valkyrie sprang at her father like a leaping cat, sending them both to the ground in a flurry of tangled limbs and laughter. His powerful arms wrapped around her as best they could, firmly squeezing her back as only a father who'd raised a huntress could. For her part, An tried her best to return the favor by crushing his ribcage into submission.

'_There's only _one_ way in this world a Valkyrie'll hug someone and you aren't an exception to that, missy!'_

"I see Beacon hasn't changed you _too_ much, An," Ren observed as he pulled away, a smile crinkling the skin around his eyes. He smoothly rolled to his feet and brushed off his clothes.

"Why would it?" An sprang back up and spread her hands. "Just 'cause I've got a new room and new friends doesn't mean I'm gonna stop being me!"

Ren snorted softly. "Don't be so sure about that. A change of scenery and company can have truly wondrous effects on the soul. You'll see, I'll barely recognize you in a few months' time."

"Sure, Dad." An suppressed the urge to roll her eyes. What did he know, anyways? Oh! "You should meet my teammates!"

Peeking out from behind her, An's partner waved sedately.

Morado's eyes were only half lidded – he was so lazy! – but he watched her interaction with her dad with the kind of keen grade of attention that meant he was nothing less than intrigued. He normally only looked that way during Oobleck's classes, to An's unending bafflement. "Pleasure to meet you, sir. I'm An's partner. Morado Lear."

Her dad's attention sharpened on the boy. "Are you?"

An smirked.

Ooh, she'd been waiting to hear that tone from him. Just like Mom'd told her when she called home after Initiation: _'Lazy, huh? Give your dad a couple minutes with him and that'll go away reeeeeeal quick.'_

Ren hummed for a moment – staring just long enough and with just enough steel in his pink irises to make An's partner squirm a bit – before turning to the other two huntsmen in the room. "And you two?"

"Dawn Brookes, sir." Dawn smiled brightly. She hadn't had any problems meeting new people so far, An had noticed. "Really great to meet An's dad. You're a huntsman too?"

Ren nodded, much more approving of the textbooks spread out around the girl. An would have thought that the ink smears all over Dawn's cheek where she'd been tapping her pen against it might have scored at least a raised eyebrow, but his eyes only seemed to twinkle a little brighter for the sight.

The last of their quartet nodded sharply to her father. His face might have been carved from stone for all the expression he showed. "Nile Amari. Good to meet you, sir."

An pursed her lips. She'd grown up with a dad who showed affection with the slightest of gestures. She could read a face better than anyone else she knew, save maybe her mom. But Nile still had her stumped whenever she tried to… oh gods now her dad was doing it too. They were both blank slates now. What was—

They were _not_ having a staring contest!

Morado scooted over to her side and leaned in. "Ten lien says your dad blinks first," he whispered. A single, baffled moment later, An narrowed her eyes.

'_Excuse you?'_

She whispered back fiercely: "Twenty lien – I'll be getting that _premium_ ammo once Dad kicks Nile's ass."

"You're on."

The two leaned forward to watch the duel – because it _was_ a duel and nothing less. Dawn rolled her eyes – childishly! – at them and returned to her books.

An ignored the distraction with the ease of someone who grew up with Nora Valkyrie for a parent. She was not missing Nile lose!

…

…

An resisted the urge to bite her lip – surely their eyes had to be burning by—

"I win!"

"Son of a…"

"I'll forgive you for not cursing in front of my daughter while I'm still around to witness it, Mr. Lear."

An's pumped her fist in the air as her partner forked over the bills. He'd given her single denominations just to be a butt about it, but _she_ had won the bet and he had noooot~

Dawn smiled sympathetically at Nile as he sulked in the corner. His previous expressionlessness was tinged with irritation – he couldn't entirely mask a pout, really – and An had to suppress the giggle that welled up at the sight.

'_Suck it Nile, we'll crack you open yet!'_

"Anyways." Ren interjected dryly. "I did come here for a reason."

He watched their interactions with a gentle smile – what was that for? That was his 'I'm proud but kind-of sad' face. She knew it from when he'd worn it the day she'd been accepted into Signal.

An's eyes narrowed. "Mom's not pregnant, is she?"

The fatherly expression evaporated in an instant as Ren paled and began to sputter. "W-What?! No!"

Victory.

She mentally tallied a point in her favor – breaking her dad's composure like _that_ was a challenge that required nothing less than constant vigilance, ruthless aggression, and a complete and utter disregard for the propriety he'd pounded into her head.

In truth, it was a game she'd been solemnly entrusted with as a little kid by her very own mother; a sort of matrilineal family tradition. An liked to think that she'd taken to it with aplomb.

Grudgingly, she had to give her dad a point of his own though when he recomposed himself in under a few seconds. His dark eyebrows scrunched together in that way that told her that he knew what she was about, but that he wasn't going to do anything about it.

Perfect.

An smiled beatifically back at him. "Well, what is it then? Did Miss Legs finally get caught out by her boyfriends?"

Ren sighed wearily. "I swear, you two are more involved with that woman's love-life than she is. And I told you not to call her that!"

"But that's what Mom calls her!"

"Yes, and her flirting gets us discounted muffins, so I don't complain. _Anyways_." Ren pinched the bridge of his nose – another point for An – and shook his head. "I'm here because your Aunt Ruby flew in today. She's here at the school, I think Jaune's helping her settle in."

The thought seemed to trouble him, and An fought down the frown of curiosity that nearly crept onto her face at_ that_ morsel.

"She'll be helping the professors do their thing until Headmistress Goodwitch figures out what she wants her to specialize in," he continued. "Since I was bringing her over here, I thought I'd say hello and see how you were doing."

An exchanged glances with her teammates – four sets of wide eyes silently communicating the surprise she was sure they all shared. Teaching, _here_? Helping the professors? She'd thought Aunt Ruby was just _visiting_ Vale, not sticking around!

Wait.

An sprang to her feet, diving for her drawers and shuffling through the mess of papers and supplies she had yet to organize (Ren frowned disapprovingly behind her. Blah blah blah she'd get to it later).

She could finally get some help training with Rook! With a real scythe wielder! Not dusty old books and outdated videos! No more blundering around!

She dug deeper. Where_. Was it?_

There!

She grabbed the faded, slightly-crinkled photograph from the little nook it had made in the back corner, nearly forgotten. She could feel the eyes on it around the room.

It wasn't like a picture from a movie, where everything looked sepia-toned and old enough to belong inside some old lady's photo album. The colors were still fresh, the edges more or less crisp and untorn. An knew it had only been taken a little over a decade ago, a few weeks before her mom and dad found and took her in.

Morado peeked over her shoulder, so she plopped herself down on Dawn's bed to show her and Nile first, ignoring her partner's indignant squawking.

Five people stood in front of Beacon academy in the picture. Five huntsmen, to be more precise. Her mom and dad on the left, only a few years older than she was now, flanking her uncle Jaune – Professor Arc, she mentally corrected for the umpteenth time in the last three weeks. On the other side was a much shorter, much younger teenager with an antiquated-looking cane propped underneath his crossed hands: Oscar Pine.

He'd been over for meals more times than she could count; she had no idea how a kid like him got into her parent's group during the Incursions, but he had, and he'd stuck around. Not quite an uncle like Jaune, not quite a friend to her, but certainly not a stranger.

And between him and Jaune was her Aunt Ruby…

An didn't know what to think of the red-cloaked huntress. She'd barely gotten to know her at all before she'd left Vale in a rush. She'd been eight years old at the time – old enough to remember the stories she'd been told when her mom and dad were too tired or busy to keep an eye on her. Old enough to remember the warm, worn red cloak the huntress always had draped around her shoulders, and how it felt to snuggle against it when she was sleepy.

Old enough to remember Crescent Rose twirling like Death's will manifest, hissing steel and splitting air filling her ears.

An's eyes lingered on the white sword at the woman's hip – she'd never understood why Aunt Ruby'd carried it when Crescent Rose was already so effective. Nobody would tell her where it came from, either. It became one of many taboo subjects, quickly forgotten by her child self in favor of other, more interesting stories.

Dawn reached over to touch the photo, fingers lingering on Crescent Rose's compact form peeking out from behind Aunt Ruby's back. "That's the weapon you based Rook off of, right An?"

She grinned brightly. "Yup! That, and Harbinger, which _it_ was based on."

Those were only two scythes used professionally by huntsmen in recent memory – not counting the idiots she'd tracked down who didn't know what they were doing, and who got angry when she asked more and more _pointed_ questions… cowards.

She was a Valkyrie, after all. She knew how to pry information from the unwilling. Usually it was a talent she used on her father or the other kids she'd befriended at Signal.

Unfortunately, it was harder to extract information when it wasn't there to begin with.

Crescent Rose and Harbinger had dominated the image she'd constructed of herself as a huntress for longer than she could properly remember. Sure, Stormflower and Magnhild were glorious to behold, and her parents were deadly when they needed to be, but Crescent Rose was a legend with enough time to etch itself into her mind. It wasn't tarnished by reality like her parent's weapons were.

Comparably, Harbinger was nothing short of mythical.

Whirling steel. Hissing death. They were fearsome, wicked. She'd made Rook with that sound in mind, reaching back into her faded memories to forge a weapon to commensurate to those emotions…

…

Well…

In truth, she'd been lucky that Signal's forge master retained the schematics for both Harbinger and Crescent Rose. Compared to the weapon as An had known them, they were somewhat incomplete, but that was remedied by a few letters.

It had been much, _much_ more difficult than she'd expected to bring Rook to life, but she'd managed it, and had instantly fallen in love with the completed weapon.

Wielding it was another story.

Memories didn't teach her how one could use a scythe in combat, and what she tried to guess or figure out on her own often had drawbacks she hadn't foreseen. Online searches yielded little, and most of that was impractical, flashy showmanship. Not very useful for a huntress.

If she were being honest with herself – and if she were to distill the criticism of her teachers down to the fundamentals – she was sloppy, slow, and that she had little more than a few precious journals, grainy videos, and scrawled letters to use as reference was obvious in the clunkiness of her technique. The potential was there, they would always say, but she was hobbled without a proper teacher.

And with scythe wielders being so horribly rare, and most of them unskilled… well, she could blame them entirely for recommending she try working with a different weapon. It was only logical, after all.

She'd thought about that a lot. But now, with Aunt Ruby _here_…!

She suppressed a whoop of anticipation.

What an opportunity!

Morado squeezed in between An and the bedpost, eyes narrowed deeply in thought. "So that's Ruby Rose, huh?"

"She's shorter than I'd imagined."

"She's a huntress, Dawn. I don't think size matters as much there."

"Oh, and you'd know?"

Nile interrupted them. "This was taken after Vale was reclaimed?"

Ren nodded. "Yes. We hadn't seen each other in months – Ruby and her team left for Atlas when the Grimm threat started to get really bad… We stayed behind to help Mistral out while it recovered from losing so many huntsmen so quickly." He paused for a long moment, then sighed. "She was the only one to come back."

There was quiet loss in his voice. It rankled, and An lowered the picture to look up at him with concern.

That… that was his 'Remembering' face. Capital 'R.' Her mom had a similar face. An knew from experience that if she didn't do something to cheer her up, she might even start crying. Usually getting her dad and letting them have some time alone helped.

When Ren wasn't around, she would hug An tightly to herself, informing her firmly that that was okay too. An had never been able to make much sense of it.

Knowing Vale had been a Grimm-infested ruin was different from experiencing it. Her memories of the Incursions were faded, murky and generally unimportant to her, and she had nothing at all of Vale before then. Just what people described, or what she could see in pictures.

Awkwardly – she was stuck between her teammates – An patted her dad's leg in what she hoped was a comforting gesture.

The look faded and he smiled at her, so she quietly tallied that under 'victory.'

Ren smoothly plucked the photo from her fingers, looking back into his memories as much as the picture itself. "We weren't able to meet up during the preparations… The three standing kingdoms were coordinating their attacks, but until everyone was on the ground in Vale there was no time to communicate between individuals. When the school was reclaimed, they turned the plateau into an infirmary and base camp while the military cleared the city. We'd all gotten banged up during the fighting… your mother worst of all. She was stuck there until the end of the fighting. Ruby tracked us down – she couldn't transfer to our unit, but every night we'd regroup and make sure we were all safe."

Ren handed her back the picture. The four of them had fallen silent while he reminisced. Ren didn't tell many stories about those times. Few huntsmen did.

He seemed tired for the effort, like remembering had sapped him of a little bit of vitality, but his smile remained warm.

"Anyways," he said, giving An's hand a squeeze and letting her know the story was done with. "I don't know when you'll be able to talk to Ruby. Certainly once she starts teaching at least, if you don't run into her before then."

An smiled back, glad the moment had passed. "Do you think she'll recognize me? Letters aren't that good for keeping in touch…"

Ren snorted. "We sent pictures too. And they're an excellent means of communication, you're just spoiled."

"Am not!"

Ren ruffled her hair. "Keep telling yourself that long enough and maybe it'll become true."

He then started moving towards the door, slow enough to convey his intentions. An jumped to her feet and hugged him around the middle in a softer embrace than before, squeezing slightly as he returned it. "You're leaving?"

"It's about time. Your mother's going to have food ready by now – takeout, probably – and I shouldn't keep her waiting."

An poked him. "She's not that bad a cook, you know."

"She's set fire to water, An."

"She makes great cookies!"

Ren was already halfway out the door. "They're unhealthy!"

"They're delicious!"

Ren waved goodbye. "Study hard, stay safe!"

"Bye Dad!"

The door closed with a click. An sighed, mind immediately wandering elsewhere.

It was a weekend. If she burned through her homework, she could easily make time to visit Aunt Ruby and ask her about her scythe-work. But then, she was probably busy with moving all the way across Remnant, and getting caught up on everything she'd need to know about teaching, and probably a dozen other things An hadn't thought of…

But then, she'd already been through school, so what more would she need to know…?

Morado poked her in the side. "Hey, Annie."

Her musings were instantly cast aside. An cast a withering glare on him. "It's _An,_ not 'Annie!'"

Dawn shoved her shoulder from the other side. "Who cares about that, you can't just have your dad tell you that our new professor is your aunt without telling us about her!"

"What's she like?" Morado asked.

"Is she strict? Do we need to worry about her giving us a ton of homework?"

"Why is she, y'know, _here_? She's the Reaper over in Mistral, isn't she? Big badass? Hasn't she got better stuff to be doing?"

An's head twisted back and forth to keep up with the volley of questions – she didn't know _half _of that, she hadn't seen Ruby since she was _eight_! She prepared to tell them off for it, but then she caught the open curiosity on their faces. Even Nile, though he kept his silence.

…Well fine. She could play storyteller herself for a while, then.

An pushed herself back on the bed, making herself comfortable as her teammates arranged themselves around her. "Okay… it's been a while, and I was really young when this happened, so…"

* * *

**It's been a while - I'll admit, RWBY's been low on my list of priorities for a good while. Volume Seven disappointed me in a lot of ways, and that kind of obliterated a lot of my motivation to write for the Last Rose. Updates will probably be sporadic for the foreseeable future between now and Volume Eight. I've got the story planned out so don't worry about that; I just can't bring myself to sit down and continue it right now. **

**Regardless, here's a chapter here for you! I hope you enjoyed, let me know what you thought!**


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